Sony/Marvel’s Spider-Man: No Way Home grossed an estimated $5.28M in Korea on its first day today. This is significant for a number of reasons: Korea has been extremely soft of late, yet the launch day is 11% over the first day of 2019’s pre-pandemic Spider-Man: Far From Home and is the biggest day-one figure for any title of the pandemic era.
Korea was Far From Home’s second biggest international box office market, after China (which has not yet dated this webslinger installment), so its performance is one to watch as an indicator. It is possible Korea imposes stricter Covid restrictions ahead of the weekend, but let’s worry about that when/if it happens.
The Jon Watts-directed No Way Home, which has already weaved record-breaking presales overseas, also saw rollout today in the UK, France, Russia, Mexico and Italy. In France, it widely outdistanced other titles during the first Paris screenings.
No Way Home begins domestic previews on Thursday. Also joining the opening suite from abroad through Friday are Germany, Brazil, the Netherlands, India and Spain, among others.
Wannasee is so high in the Netherlands, where there is a 5PM curfew, that cinemas are opening as early at 7:30 AM to accommodate moviegoers.
Projections coming into the weekend for one of 2021’s most anticipated titles are for an opening floor of $290M global, which could indeed mushroom into a bigger number. However, we need to remain cautious given potentially shifting Covid impact. We’ll know more and have further updates throughout the coming days.