There is also little left for other titles competing for attention in a vital film week. The $ 81.5 million gross weekend for “Spider-Man” was about $ 22 million more than the collective gross weekend of the next nine highest-grossing films combined.

Of the new Christmas week releases, only the family-friendly animated film “Sing 2” recorded a smooth debut, with two other sequels – “The King’s Man” and “The Matrix Resurrections” – falling flat and a handful. other new releases failed to catch at.

Hollywood faces a mixed bag as the last week of the year approaches, which, outside of the summer months, is the busiest time to go to the movies. School vacations and family reunions typically take consumers to the theater every day of the week, but this year’s combination of Covid-19 precaution and 18 months of sporadic cinema appears to have reduced enthusiasm for the tradition.

While “Spider-Man” is doing its part to keep exhibitors afloat, the performances of other titles indicate an industry lagging ability to attract moviegoers as they once did.

The big studios released a half-dozen new mass-market movies over the holiday weekend, but only “Sing 2” is heading into the week with healthy returns. The movie, released by Comcast Body

Universal Pictures, has grossed $ 41 million since opening Wednesday, a solid performance in a year that has proven to be a turnkey for family outings.

“The Matrix Resurrections” had the highest profile of newcomers, as it was the first installment in the franchise’s 18 years that introduced moviegoers to Neo, slow motion bullets and the choice between the “red pill” and the “blue pill”. “

However, WarnerMedia’s efforts to revive the “Matrix” appear to have been bypassed. The film has raised $ 22.5 million since it opened on Wednesday. Like the other Warner films released in 2021, it was released simultaneously on the company’s HBO Max platform. The studio has not released specific information about the film’s performance in the Foyers.

News of the rapidly spreading variant of Covid-19 Omicron damaged cinema to some extent over the weekend, said Jeff Goldstein, president of national distribution at Warner Bros., who published “The Matrix Resurrections.”

This was especially true among the older audience, who turned to the movie “The Matrix”.

“Omicron definitely took our breath away,” Goldstein said, turning the holiday box office into a story of “two movies that work and the others don’t”.

“The King’s Man”, the third in a franchise acquired by Walt Disney Co.

SAY 1.15%

in his purchase of Twentieth Century Fox in 2019, also not garnering as much interest as his two previous films. He grossed $ 10 million this weekend.

There is a holiday hope for the new films. Traditionally, each day between Christmas and New Year’s Day fills auditoriums like a weekend night in multiplexes, and poorly opening movies are known to gain momentum in the days to come.

Two versions of Christmas Day will need help. “Licorice Pizza,” a growing up drama in the San Fernando Valley directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, has raised just $ 2.3 million since its expansion on Saturday.

“A Journal for Jordan,” starring Michael B. Jordan in the true story of a soldier who leaves memories for his young son, joined other adult dramas in the box office doldrums with 2, $ 2 million.

Word of mouth can be key during this time, which bodes well for “American Underdog: The Kurt Warner Story,” an inspirational football film from Lions Gate Entertainment. Corp.

LGF.B 3.67%

It opened at $ 6.2 million, but received an “A +” rating from audiences, according to market research firm CinemaScore. “Sing 2” also received the highest rating.

Nonetheless, it looks like “Spider-Man” will remain the hero exhibitors needed, an outlier in this year’s box office by almost every parameter.

The film, released by Sony Pictures Entertainment, is the first film since the pandemic began raising more than $ 1 billion at the global box office. Its domestic gross of $ 467 million in two weeks is double the amount that the No. 2 movie of the year, “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” made in its entire run.

Write to Erich Schwartzel at [email protected]