The month of June is packed with blockbuster movies, and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is leading the charge.
Per Deadline, Sony Animation’s sequel has started well above expectations with a $US208.6 million worldwide start. In the U.S., it’s opened to $US120.5 million, currently the best start of the region’s ‘summer’ season (surpassing Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’s $US118.4 million) and the third-best opening for a Spider-Man flick behind 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home and 2007’s Spider-Man 3. As for how it stacks up to its direct predecessor, 2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse opened to $US35.3 million, meaning Across has surpassed the first film by 241 per cent (!!!).
The original Spider-Verse did substantially better than expected thanks to great word of mouth, plus additional momentum from the 2018 Spider-Man game (which released a few months prior) and it being the cinematic introduction of Miles Morales. That it took home numerous awards further cemented the film as something special, meaning Across had some lofty goals to live up to. Despite a delay from its original late 2022 date, anticipation for the sequel has never really wavered, and Sony’s been marketing the film like mad in recent months. With similarly top marks and a sequel just nine months away, it’s clear that Across will have a long tail similar to the first movie. And it also doesn’t hurt that Miles is set to headline Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 for the PlayStation 5 in a few months.
With Across now in theatres, Disney’s The Little Mermaid remake dropped down to second place. Across the US and internationally, the film earned $US81.2 million (an even split of $US40.6 million), bringing its worldwide total to $US326.7 million. The film dropped by 56 per cent in the past week, and has also recently been review bombed over on IMDB to the point that the site had to change its user rating system. Finally, 20th Century Studios’ The Boogeyman, which also released on June 2, opened to $US20 million worldwide. As the film based on a Stephen King short story has received mixed impressions, $US12.3 million of its take came domestically.
Across the Spider-Verse will surely have repeat viewings in the coming weeks, which may have an effect on the other tentpole movies of the month. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts drops next week on June 9, though some screenings for the film are playing on Wednesday the 7th. On June 16, there are four big movies in the form of WB’s own multiverse flick The Flash, Pixar’s Elemental, Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City, and Lionsgate’s horror comedy The Blackening. Closing out the month in terms of genre films, Disney’s got Indiana Jones & the Dial of Destiny on June 30, along with Universal’s Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken (trailers of which have been in front of movies such as Spider-Verse).
So yeah, it’s a pretty packed month. Look for Gizmodo’s reviews on several of those above films in the coming weeks.