IMAX Corporation (NYSE: IMAX) catapulted to a $20 million debut for Sony Pictures’ “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” at the global box office this weekend. In a sign of the surging popularity of animation across the IMAX global network, the stellar sequel delivered the second biggest animated opening of all time in IMAX —missing the record set only two months ago by just $1 million.
Opening with an impressive $13.5 million in North America — good for 11.2% of the market — the highly anticipated animated sequel also scored $6.5 million oversees, including $2.7 million in China — 16.5% of the film’s Chinese box office on only 1% of screens.
“‘With ‘Spider-Verse’, the film’s incredible creative team and Sony have created one of the most visually dazzling franchises in cinema, and we are excited to see audiences overwhelmingly choose IMAX to experience it,” said Rich Gelfond, CEO of IMAX. “Both from Hollywood and thriving international film industries like Japan, animation has emerged as a powerful engine of growth for our global box office and we are focused on capitalizing on this opportunity as filmmakers continue to raise the bar for the genre.”
“The incredible market share we’ve seen lately with animated films — in some cases double what we’ve historically averaged with animated releases — speaks to the expanding demand for IMAX with new audiences.”
The success of “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” comes on the heels of the recent animated smash hit “The Super Mario Bros. Movie”, which holds the title for the Company’s highest grossing animated film of all time with a record-breaking $21.6 million debut.
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” will continue its run on the IMAX network next week before making way for the next chapter in the “Transformers” franchise, titled “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts”, which opens on June 9. Anticipated releases “The Flash”, “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny”, “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part 1”, and Christopher Nolan’s Filmed For IMAX release “Oppenheimer” also arrive on IMAX screens this summer.
