The question now is, how far higher will Spider-Man: No Way Home go in the all-time highest-grossing charts?

As this story is being written, Peter Parker’s latest saga has already become the 10^th biggest domestic release in history. Globally, Tom Holland’s latest outing as the web-slinging hero has become the 12^th highest earning movie of all time. With its $1.37 billion earnings, Spider-Man handed Sony Pictures its biggest-grossing title.

Facing no serious competition during the holidays, Spider-Man: No Way Home swung its way to the top again, broke domestic and overseas box office records, and ended 2021 with a bang.

In North America, director Jon Watts’ newest Spider-Man movie, part of a trilogy, grabbed $52.7 million for a total of $609.8 million so far. That enabled the film, also starring Zendaya, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Jacob Batalon, to hit the $600 million milestone.

Box office experts are betting that this Spider-Man installment will eventually edge out The Avengers and Star Wars: The Last Jedi, currently eighth and ninth, respectively, in the top ten biggest earning domestic titles in history.

In the meantime, yes, there are other releases. Second placer Sing 2 collected $19.6 million and added to its domestic cumulative of $89.6 million. The hit sequel that sees the return of the animals with serious vocal pipes (Bono, Pharrell Williams, Taron Egerton, and more) is poised to eclipse Encanto ($91.3 million) as the biggest-earning animated movie in the COVID-19 health crisis era.

The movie also voiced by Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, and Scarlett Johansson is also expected to become the first animated feature to cross the $100 million mark in the pandemic times.

The King’s Man, the prequel to the first two Kingsman movies, ranked third. The Matthew Vaughn-directed installment, featuring Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton, Djimon Hounsou, Rhys Ifans, Matthew Goode, and Daniel Brühl, collected $4.5 million on its second weekend.

Occupying the fourth spot was American Underdog, the faith-based sports biopic about quarterback Kurt Warner (played by Zachary Levi), with a cast that includes Anna Paquin and Dennis Quaid, which earned $4 million.

That The Matrix: Resurrections would fall behind the underperforming The King’s Man and American Underdog on its sophomore frame speaks volumes about the poor performance of the fourth film in Keanu Reeves’ sci-fi franchise. The fifth-ranked movie, marking the rise again of Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity, is also streaming but its $3.8 million weekend take and $30.9 million total are still way below expectations.

Making it to the rest of the magic ten were, in order: West Side Story ($2.1 million); Ghostbusters: Afterlife ($1.4 million); Licorice Pizza ($1.2 million); A Journal for Jordan ($1.1 million), and Encanto ($1 million).

In the international box office race, Spider-Man: No Way Home also claimed boasting rights as the biggest Hollywood moneymaker in the offshore market. Attracting $78.3 million this time around in over 60 territories, Tom Holland’s biggest hit in his young career has now netted $759 million overseas.

It’s worth repeating that the 27^th Marvel Cinematic Universe production is 2021’s highest-earning movie worldwide, without the benefit of a release in China. And No Way Home (NWH) still has box office ammo – it has yet to open in Japan, Norway, the Philippines, and several other markets.

Contributing to NWH’s tremendous success overseas were its strong earnings in Mexico, the United Kingdom, Australia, Russia, India, Germany, Brazil and Korea.

The international box office mirrored the ranking of other films in the North American market: Sing 2 ($17.2 million); The King’s Man ($14.1 million); and The Matrix Resurrections ($13.7 million).