The new Spider-Man film has broken box office records in Mexico, raking in an estimated US $32.4 million since its December 15 release.
Spider-Man: No Way Home, the 27th film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, took in $9 million on its first day, beating Avengers: Endgame, a 2019 release that took a weekend to earn $12.5 million.
The 148-minute smash hit is the second sequel of a Spider-Man series starring U.K. actor Tom Holland. It cost $200 million to produce and features Benedict Cumberbatch, Zendaya, Willem Dafoe and Jamie Foxx.
The exceptional commercial success of No Way Home was foreseen by the head of Mexico’s biggest cinema chain, Cinépolis. CEO Alejandro Ramírez tweeted on Wednesday to announce that the Spider-Man film had broken the 50-year-old company’s record for ticket presales.
Its triumph in Mexico has been matched in Latin America more widely: in Argentina and Ecuador, it achieved the biggest opening of all time, and the second biggest in Brazil.
After just five days, the Sony release is the third biggest U.S. studio film of the pandemic era, with an estimated global take of $587.2 million, behind only the James Bond film No Time to Die and Fast & Furious 9.
However, some moviegoers struggled to contain their excitement, as demand for tickets led to violence outside a cinema in Cuernavaca, Morelos, on November 29. The video of a confrontation went viral showing two violent scraps between youths with punches and kicks to the head.
“No way, the film is going to be showing all week,” one disapproving person shouted during the melee.
Spider-Man himself also voiced his disapproval when asked about the video. “We are living in a time crazy enough to fight like this,” Holland said.
Spider-Man: No Way Home was produced by Columbia Pictures, Marvel Studios and Pascal Pictures, and distributed by Sony. Audiences have given the blockbuster a 99% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, while 94% of critics recommend the film.
With reports from Record, ADN 40, Noticias AS and Screen Daily
