Tom Holland’s third solo MCU outing continues to climb up the box office ranks. Right now, the only films bigger than No Way Home in North America are 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens and 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. At this rate, No Way Home will probably settle in nicely at third place with likely only a few weeks of screening left, if any at all. Then again, who knows? 2009’s Avatar was in cinemas for nine months (yes, nine months - not weeks) while Endgame and The Force Awakens continued running for 13 weeks and 24 weeks, respectively. What is perhaps the most interesting part about No Way Home’s record is the manner in which the Sony-Marvel venture achieved it. Ever since premiering on December 17, 2021, No Way Home took the top spot at the domestic box office on six of nine weekends. The only times that it didn’t come out on top was when Scream, Jackass: Forever, and Death on the Nile made their respective debuts. Even then, No Way Home still did relatively well, suggesting that No Way Home will end up making close to $800M once it’s all said and done. Also, because of its domestic success, No Way Home joins a shortlist of films that ranked No. 1 for six weekends during their initial runs in theaters. The list includes 1983’s Return of the Jedi, 1993’s The Fugitive, 1988’s Rain Man, 1985’s Rocky IV, and 1983’s Terms of Endearment. Coincidentally, the only film to outrank No Way Home and co is Avatar, which had seven top weekends. No Way Home’s success comes as a surprise, at a time when films couldn’t even come close to breaching the billion-dollar mark worldwide. Before No Way Home, the highest-grossing international film was No Time to Die and before that, F9: The Fast Saga. Both blockbuster films were hundreds of millions short of a billion at the global box office. Having said that, No Way Home’s theatrical run might soon come to an end. At nine weeks in, Sony will want to start preparing for Morbius in April. Meanwhile, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is expected to give No Way Home a run for its money on May 6. The Benedict Cumberbatch-led multiversal affair got a doozy of a trailer at Super Bowl LVI.
