Relish Mix expresses excitement over the social media buzz surrounding the topic: "Spider-Verse has generated a lot of positive conversation on social media, and now the excitement is spreading to the wider audience of Super Mario Bros. There's a lot of anticipation for Hailee Steinfeld's portrayal of Gwen Stacy, also known as Spider-Woman, along with references to the live-action Spider-Man and enthusiastic praise for the film's visual style. Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are eagerly exploring the possibilities and storylines for future animated and live-action films, with one noticeable absence: no one is asking when this will be available for streaming."
The social media engagement for Across the Spider-Verse has surpassed the 2018 version by 15%, currently reaching a combined total of 665.1 million across platforms like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. This animated franchise has a distinct following separate from the live-action series, with 1.85 million dedicated fans. To put it in perspective, the past two live-action Spider-Man films achieved a staggering 1 billion social media universe engagements, with No Way Home leading the way with $260.1 million and a total of 1.2 billion social media universe engagements. Fans and super-fans are sharing content online at an astonishing viral rate of 47:1, an impressive feat according to Relish Mix.
Steinfeld's portrayal of Gwen Stacy has amassed a dedicated fan base of 32.7 million for the film's campaign out of the overall cast's total of 68.3 million. The cast includes Shameka Moore with 367,000 followers and Jake Johnson with 1.6 million.
Disney dominates the second, third, and fourth positions on the chart. The second weekend of The Little Mermaid is projected to earn around $12 million today, resulting in a total of $42 million to $44 million for its second weekend across 4,320 theatres, with a 54% decrease at the high end. This brings its 10-day total to $189.7 million. In 2019, Aladdin had a 53% drop in its second weekend and accumulated $42.8 million, bringing its total to $185.5 million at the same point in its release.
Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 from Disney/Marvel Studios is currently playing at 3,580 theatres and is expected to earn $3 million on its fifth Friday and $10.5 million over the three-day weekend, resulting in a total of $322.9 million. Both The Little Mermaid and Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 are holding strong at the box office.
The Bogeyman, a collaboration between Disney and 20th Century Studios, is projected to earn $4.5 million today, leading to a weekend total of over $10 million across 3,205 theatres.
Universal's Fast X is playing at 3,467 theatres and is expected to earn $2.4 million on its third Friday and $8.3 million over the three-day weekend, bringing its total by Sunday to $127.5 million.
UPDATE: According to Sony's report, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse garnered $17.35 million in previews, making it the second highest-grossing animated film in terms of previews, just behind The Incredibles 2 with $18.5 million. Exit polls from comScore/Screen Engine's Post Trak reveal that fans gave the film a five-star rating.
During the preview night, the general audience turnout, as indicated by Post Trak, consisted of 39% males under 25, 28% males over 25, 21% females under 25, and 11% females over 25. An impressive 79% of the audience strongly recommended the film, and there was a remarkably diverse turnout, with Hispanic and Latino audiences accounting for 33% of the crowd, Caucasians representing 30%, Black attendees making up 20%, and Asian viewers comprising 11%. Parents and children together made up 16% of the preview night audience, with boys under twelve outnumbering girls 63% to 37%. Additionally, 64% of the audience fell within the age range of 7 to 12.
Meanwhile, Disney's decision to release 20th Century Studios' PG-13 horror film, Bogeyman, in theatres instead of Hulu resulted in $1.1 million in box office earnings. Although slightly lower than recent horror movie previews like Evil Dead Rise ($1.9 million) and Smile ($2 million), both of which were R-rated, it still performed well. The film M3GAN, which was also rated PG-13, earned $2.75 million. Bogeyman, directed by Rob Savage, is currently playing at 3,205 locations and holds a 74% verified audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, with Post Trak rating it 2 1/2 stars. The film is projected to earn approximately $15 million over the weekend.
Disney's The Little Mermaid maintained its position as the top film in regular release, grossing $6.8 million yesterday, marking a 17% decrease from Wednesday. The film is estimated to have earned $145.7 million in total across 4,320 theatres, surpassing Aladdin's first-week performance by 2%. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, another Disney MCU title, earned $1.58 million on its fourth week, reflecting a 22% decrease from Wednesday. The film has accumulated $32.6 million in its fourth week, with a running total of $312.1 million across 3,940 theatres. Universal's Fast X earned $1.4 million on Thursday, also down 22% from Wednesday, resulting in a cumulative total of $119.4 million. In its second week, the film earned $34.3 million. Super Mario Bros, also from Universal, earned $556,000, a 14% decrease, and has reached a cumulative total of $562.8 million in its eighth week, earning $10.2 million across 3,148 theatres. Fifth place belonged to Lionsgate's About My Father with $300,000, a 22% decrease, and a first-week total of $6.7 million. Stand-up comedians' forays into the film industry used to perform better before the rise of streaming, as exemplified by Dane Cook's Employee of the Month, which earned $14.3 million in its first week back in October 2006, also distributed by Lionsgate.
PREVIOUS REPORT: According to box office sources, Sony Animation's Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is off to a strong start, collecting $16 million from previews that began at 3 PM across 3,562 theatres. This marks the second-highest preview night earnings for an animated film, surpassed only by Disney/Pixar's Incredibles 2 with $18.5 million in June 2018. Disney/Pixar's Toy Story 4 comes in third with $12 million in preview earnings, solidifying its place among the top-performing animated films at the domestic box office.
The preview earnings for Across the Spider-Verse alone are 4.5 times greater than what the first animated film in 2018, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, earned on its Thursday night, which amounted to $3.5 million before a $12.6 million Friday and a $35.3 million three-day opening. It remains to be seen how front-loaded Across the Spider-Verse is, making it premature to compare it directly to Incredibles 2. The latter opened with a staggering $71.2 million on its first day, with 26% of that number coming from Thursday previews. Incredibles 2 still holds the record for the highest opening weekend for an animated film at $182.6 million. Projections for Across the Spider-Verse's opening weekend in the U.S. range from $75 million to $90 million. Even on the lower end, the film's three-day earnings will be more than double the first instalment’s opening weekend, which is certainly commendable.
Determining the box office performance of this sequel is challenging due to its unique status as a Marvel animated film, a rarity. Moreover, it is one of the longest-running animated films of all time, with a runtime of 140 minutes. Among animated movies with extended runtimes, Across the Spider-Verse ranks seventh alongside FUN Imation/Kyoto Animation's Violent Ever Garden. The longest animated film runtime belongs to Sunoo Kawauchi's in This Corner (And Other Corners) of the World, clocking in at 168 minutes.
Critically, Across the Spider-Verse has received high acclaim, with a 95% certified fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an impressive 97% approval rating from audiences.