The last box office estimates prior to the release of Spider-Man: Homecoming pointed toward a $90-110 million domestic opening weekend. Sony projected a conservative $80-95 million, but aggressive estimates suggested a $120 million-plus debut. Now, it looks as though those aggressive estimates actually hit the bull's-eye.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Jon Watts flick bagged a whopping $50.5 million on Friday in 4,341 theaters, including the $15.4 million from Thursday previews. With such an impressive start, its projected opening weekend haul now stands at $120-125 million.
If that estimate holds, Spider-Man: Homecoming will easily stroll past Wonder Woman ($103.3 million) to become 2017’s third-highest North American debut. The first two spots are occupied by Beauty and the Beast ($174.8 million) and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 ($146.5 million).
This also means that the first solo outing for Tom Holland's webslinger will best both of Andrew Garfield's The Amazing Spider-Man movies, even when adjustments are made for inflation. However, it won't match Tobey Maguire's first three Spider-Man movies when adjusting for inflation. Nevertheless, for a movie released during the ill-fated summer of 2017, and the sixth movie to feature a specific superhero in 15 years, we should view Homecoming’s estimated opening weekend as a major victory.
Spider-Man: Homecoming’s Rotten Tomatoes approval rating is 94 percent, which is on par with the MCU’s best, Iron Man. Homecoming has also earned an A CinemaScore from moviegoers. Introducing Peter Parker’s youngest cinematic version has definitely worked out well for Sony/Marvel, as half of Friday's ticket buyers were 25 years old or younger, and around 61 percent of the audience was male.
