LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥� 鈥淪pider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse鈥� slung its webs back atop the box office ranks while 鈥淭he Flash鈥� saw a drop faster than the film鈥檚 speedy character.
The Spidey animated sequel 鈥� starring Shameik Moore as the teenage webslinger Miles Morales 鈥� reclaimed the No. 1 spot in its fourth week in North American theaters, scoring $19.3 million. The latest number helped the Sony film reach $317.1 million domestically and an impressive $560.3 million worldwide.
鈥淔or a film like this to crawl and spin a web back into the No. 1 spot is very rare,鈥� said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a testament to the quality of the movie. This is a very competitive and crowded summer movie marketplace. And yet 鈥楽pider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse鈥� has distinguished itself as one of the biggest movies this summer season.鈥�
鈥淪pider-Verse鈥� beat out 鈥淓lemental,鈥� which took second place for the second week in a row with an estimated $18.5 million. The film held on to the spot after experiencing Pixar鈥檚 worst three-day opening last week.
No other film had such a dramatic drop than 鈥淭he Flash鈥� with $15.2 million for the big-budget offering. The second-week output for the DC and Warner Bros superhero film, starring Ezra Miller, fell off by 72% after opening with a subpar $55 million.
So far, the numbers 鈥淭he Flash鈥� have accumulated haven鈥檛 measured up for a movie with a $200 million production budget. Some are crediting the film鈥檚 struggles to Miller鈥檚 off-screen behavior that has included arrests and misconduct. The actor has apologized and sought mental health treatment.
鈥淪ometimes it鈥檚 not the opening weekend that tells the whole story 鈥� particularly with 鈥楨lemental,鈥� Dergarabedian said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 more about the challenges that can sometimes face a movie like 鈥楾he Flash鈥� that are multifaceted, and it鈥檚 very difficult to overcome.鈥�
鈥淭he Flash鈥� barely edged out 鈥淣o Hard Feelings,鈥� starring Jennifer Lawrence and Andrew Barth Feldman. The Sony R-rated comedy, which opened in fourth place with $15.1 million, tells a story about a teen鈥檚 parents who hired a woman (Lawrence) to date and boost his confidence.
With 鈥淪pider-Verse鈥� and 鈥淣o Hard Feelings,鈥� Dergarabedian said Sony should be pleased about the turnout for both films.
鈥淭ransformers: Rise of the Beasts鈥� came in fifth place with $11.6 million in its third week with a total $122.9 million. It placed ahead of Wes Anderson鈥檚 鈥淎steroid City,鈥� which did better than expected with $9 million.
In seventh, 鈥淭he Little Mermaid鈥� pulled in $8.6 million to bring its total to more than $270 million.
Dergarabedian said he expects a good draw for 鈥淚ndiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,鈥� which opens June 30.
鈥淣o matter what the reviews are. I know the reviews have been mixed. But the summer movie fan who wants to go to the movie theater, you can鈥檛 sit this one out,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really going to be the audience who will decide the ultimate success of this film.鈥�
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. 鈥淪pider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,鈥� $19.3 million.
2. 鈥淓lemental,鈥� $18.4 million.
3. The Flash,鈥� $15.2 million.
4. 鈥淣o Hard Feelings,鈥� 15.1 million.
5. "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts,鈥� $11.6 million.
6. 鈥淎steroid City鈥� $9 million.
7. 鈥淭he Little Mermaid,鈥� $8.6 million.
8. 鈥淕uardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,鈥� $3.5 million.
9. 鈥淭he Blackening,鈥� $3 million.
Jonathan Landrum Jr., The Associated Press
