Dont Tell NetflixDont Tell Netflix

by Emily Nagle

“Spider-Man: No Way Home” swung into theaters Thursday night, and not even 24 hours into its release, the film is already smashing box office records. The co-production between Sony Pictures and Marvel raked in $50 million during previews, making it the third-highest opening in cinematic history, right behind “Avengers: Endgame” ($60 million) and “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” ($57 million).

AMC estimates that 1 million moviegoers flocked to theaters to see the long-awaited film, which released its first teaser back in August. Ever since then, the hype for the newest installment in the “Spider-Man” film series has only been increasing with each update, from the trailers premiering on YouTube to the official poster getting released.

Cinemark’s senior vice president of global content Justin McDaniel reacted to the film’s profitable opening night, announcing in a statement, “The sheer volume of people who came to see this film on the biggest screen, many for the first time since the pandemic, underscores the irreplaceable value of the in-theatre experience, which we are thrilled to continue to offer in collaboration with our studio partners. Congratulations to the entire Sony team for a remarkable opening performance for their latest blockbuster.” The company also posted a tweet announcing that “No Way Home” was their best opening night of all time.

The successful premiere for “No Way Home” shows that even with the quick spread of Omicron, movie theaters are bouncing back from where they were earlier this year. Personally, I haven’t set foot in a movie theater since the month before the pandemic shut everything down (when I saw Sonic the Hedgehog). That means it’s been nearly two years since I even set foot in a movie theater. I might have to break this streak to see “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” which has an exclusive theatrical release. Reviews are out, and they’re overwhelmingly positive, with a 99% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and a 9.2/10 on IMDb.