Spider-Man just swung past a mighty foe at the box office, proving himself as arguably the single most bankable superhero in Hollywood history.
“Spider-Man: No Way Home” has officially surpassed “Avatar” to become the third highest-grossing movie in domestic box-office history. The mind-bending adventure has earned $761 million in U.S. and Canadian ticket sales alone so far. That total knocks James Cameron’s 2009 sci-fi epic, which grossed $760 million domestically, to the fourth spot.
Even with that impressive leap, Spidey’s latest adventure still lags well behind 2015’s “Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens” ($936 million) and 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame” ($858 million), which also happens to feature the webslinger. Previously, the film had passed the $700 million domestic haul of “Black Panther,” making it the highest-grossing stand-alone superhero movie ever (i.e., not under the Avengers banner).
“Spider-Man: No Way Home” opened in theaters on Dec. 17, 2021, and brought in $260 million at the North American box office that weekend alone. The film made more than $1 billion at the global box office in just 12 days, making it the first film to earn $1 billion since 2019, before the pandemic closed theaters.
The film takes place after Spider-Man’s true identity is revealed to be Peter Parker. Peter asks fellow Avenger Doctor Strange for help now that everyone knows his true identity, but when a spell goes wrong, dangerous enemies from other worlds start to appear in his own.
The film stars Tom Holland, Benedict Cumberbatch, Marisa Tomei and Zendaya but also featured the high-profile returns of former Spider-Man actors Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire, among other fan-favorite actors from past adventures.
Despite the latest Spider-Man film grossing $1 billion in 12 days globally, it is still at just $1.8 billion total, making it stuck in the sixth spot at the worldwide box office. “Avatar” is still number one on that list, at $2.8 billion in global ticket sales, after reclaiming the top spot from “Avengers: Endgame,” which is now number two at $2.7 billion, while Cameron’s “Titanic” is third at $2.2 billion.
Including “No Way Home,” six stand-alone Spider-Man movies rank among the 100 highest-grossing movies in domestic box-office history, including all three that have starred Holland and all three that starred Maguire, who played him from 2002-2007.
It sounds like a fourth film with Holland in the red suit is under way, while it may be a while before it sees the light of day.
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