'Spider-Man' stays strong, again topping N.America box

Entertainment Live: "Spider-Man: No Way Home" again dominated in North American theaters with an estimated $52.7 million weekend take, while topping the $600 million mark domestically in its third week out, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations said Sunday.

The strong results for Sony's superhero sequel -- last weekend it surpassed the $1 billion mark globally -- have breathed welcome life into the movie industry as it battles to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. British actor Tom Holland stars as the Marvel webslinger.

With families starting to return to theaters, "Sing 2," Universal's animated musical sequel, took in a respectable $19.6 million, again placing second for the Friday-through-Sunday period. Its huge voice cast includes Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson and U2 frontman Bono.

But there was a considerable drop-off after that, with the third top-earning film, 20th Century's "The King's Man," taking in just $4.5 million. A prequel to the "Kingsman" spy films, it stars Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton, Rhys Ifans and Matthew Goode.

In fourth spot, "American Underdog" grossed $4.1 million. The Lionsgate film stars Zachary Levi in the true story of Kurt Warner, who went from stocking grocery store shelves to being a National Football League MVP. And in fifth was sci-fi prequel "The Matrix: Resurrections," from Warner Bros., at $3.8 million. Variety called its performance "disastrous," given the film's $190 million production budget.

Dhaka, 04 January (campuslive24.com)//AZ

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