Spider-Man: No Way Home scores the 3rd-biggest opening weekend of all time

Spider-Man has climbed his way to a record-breaking box office debut.

Marvel's Spider-Man: No Way Home grossed a massive $253 million at the domestic box office this weekend, the third-largest opening in history. The only movies to gross more domestically in their opening weekends are Avengers: Infinity War, which debuted with $257 million in 2018, and Avengers: Endgame, which debuted with $357 million in 2019. The third biggest opening weekend ever was previously $247 million for 2015's Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

It was a massive accomplishment for No Way Home, considering the box office continues to be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and concerns have been growing over the new Omicron variant. Still, No Way Home shattered the record for the biggest debut of the pandemic, which had been set by Venom: Let There Be Carnage with $90 million. Not only was No Way Home the first movie to open with more than $100 million since the pandemic began, but it's also already the highest-grossing film of 2021 domestically within days of its release, passing ​​Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings' $224 million.

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No Way Home had been highly anticipated among Marvel fans, as it served as a crossover event connecting every live-action Spider-Man movie released since 2002, including those that exist in different fictional universes. Reviews were largely positive, and the audience response was rapturous. Moviegoers polled by CinemaScore gave No Way Home an A+ rating, making it the fourth live-action superhero movie to ever earn a grade that high after 2012's The Avengers, 2018's Black Panther, and 2019's Avengers: Endgame, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Despite No Way Home's success, though, it continues to be the case that movies aimed at more of an adult audience, and which aren't tent-pole action adventures, are having a tougher time in theaters. In the latest example, Guillermo del Toro's Nightmare Alley disappointed this weekend, grossing just $3 million.

Update: Sony on Monday revealed updated numbers showing that No Way Home grossed $260 million in its opening weekend, giving the film the second biggest domestic debut of all time behind Avengers: Endgame.