(Adds weekend projection, analyst comment, share prices)
By Lisa Richwine
LOS ANGELES, Dec 17 (Reuters) - "Spider-man: No Way Home"
took in $50 million at U.S. and Canadian movie theaters on
Thursday, the third-highest total for preview showings ahead of
what is expected to be a massive weekend at cinemas that have
struggled through the pandemic.
The opening day sales set a record for the COVID-19 era. Box
office analysts predict total domestic receipts for "No Way
Home" through the weekend could reach as high as $240 million,
which would land it in the top five movie debuts of all time.
The big-budget superhero movie co-produced by Sony Corp
and Walt Disney Co stars Tom Holland as the
web-slinging superhero and Zendaya as his girlfriend, MJ. The
movie is playing exclusively in theaters.
The film's early success was welcome news for cinema chains,
including AMC Entertainment Holdings, Cinemark
and Cineworld's Regal chain. Cinemark said "No Way
Home" delivered its biggest opening night sales of all time.
Shares of AMC, a so-called meme stock favorite among retail
investors, jumped 23.5% to $30.19 in an active trading session
on Friday. Shares of Cinemark rose 2.9% at $16.63.
The returns show that the film is drawing many moviegoers
for the first time during the pandemic, even with the spread of
the new Omicron variant, said Shawn Robbins, chief analyst with
BoxOfficePro.com.
"This is also an example of having the right content at the
right time with the holiday corridor beginning full swing," he
said.
Robbins predicted "No Way Home" will finish the weekend
between $190 million to $240 million at domestic theaters.
The biggest opening of the pandemic so far was superhero
film "Venom: Let There Be Carnage," which took in $90 million
domestically over its first three days in October.
"No Way Home" received a glowing reception from movie
critics https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/rave-reviews-may-help-spider-man-deliver-holiday-gift-theaters-2021-12-14.
As of Friday, 95% of 220 reviews were scored as positive on the
Rotten Tomatoes website.
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine;
Additional reporting by Sinead Carew in New York;
Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Dan Grebler)
