Spider-Man: No Way Home web slings into top box office spot

Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man has web-slung onto the top box office spot this week.

Spider-Man: No Way Home claimed an opening weekend total of $253 million across 4,336 theaters, marking an opening-weekend best for the Spider-Man franchise and Sony. As previously reported by EW, the film also snagged a historical second-biggest opening day gross on Friday, raking in a reported $121.5 million — a feat bested only by Avengers: Endgame during its domestic opening.

"This weekend's historic Spider-Man: No Way Home results, from all over the world and in the face of many challenges, reaffirm the unmatched cultural impact that exclusive theatrical films can have when they are made and marketed with vision and resolve," Tom Rothman, chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures, said in a statement. "All of us at Sony Pictures, are deeply grateful to the fabulous talent, both in front of and behind the camera, that produced such a landmark film."

In director Jon Watts' third installment of the franchise, Tom Holland reprises his role as Peter Parker/Spider-Man as he teams up with Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) to battle villains from franchise's past, including Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina), among other notable cameos.

So far, the film has been heralded by critics and audiences, scoring a 99 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. EW critic Leah Greenblatt ruminated in her B+ review, "What seems at first like pure fan service turns out to be some of the best and by far the most meta stuff Marvel has done, tender and funny and a little bit devastating."

The Disney reign continued as Encanto once again took second place with $6 million, bringing its total box office gross to $81 million. West Side Story, last weekend's top box office title, came in third with $3.4 million, bringing its total to $17 million. Meanwhile, Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Nightmare Alley rounded out the top five, bringing in $3.4 million and $2.9 million this week, respectively.

There's still a hunger for Lady Gaga's turn as convicted Italian socialite Patrizia Reggiani, as House of Gucci came in at sixth place with $1.8 million, bringing its total to $44 million. It's followed this week by The Eternals at $1.1 million, Clifford the Big Red Dog at $400k, Resident Evil: Welcome to Racoon City at $280k, and Venom: Let There Be Carnage at $220k.

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