Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is projected to win the box office during its opening weekend with a haul that should equal fellow Sony holiday release Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. The animated film, which marks the first big screen appearance for Miles Morales, is poised to be one of the bigger movies this month. Looking beyond the fact it’s a superhero film based on one of the most recognizable characters in the genre, Into the Spider-Verse is also riding waves of immensely popular buzz. It was recently crowned as the best animated film of the year by the New York Film Critics’ Circle and has picked up several other accolades during awards season.

Sony is clearly loving the response their unique project has received and already have plans in place to expand the franchise. Currently, there’s a direct Spider-Verse sequel in the works, as well as an all-female spinoff centering on Spider-Gwen and other characters. Of course, for those to completely get off the ground, Into the Spider-Verse needs to be a commercial hit. Fortunately, it looks like that’s precisely what’s going to happen.

According to Box Office Pro, Into the Spider-Verse is estimated to earn about $36 million domestically during its first three days. While that figure isn’t going to break any records (and admittedly pales in comparison to similar titles), it isn’t all bad news. The latest Jumanji debuted with $36.1 million last December, en route to $404.5 million North American total.

Nobody should expect Into the Spider-Verse to end up with that much money when it’s all said and done (the end of December is stacked with several high-profile films looking to make an impact), but this is definitely a robust start for the animated movie. What’s more is that its reported budget is at a manageable $90 million, so the film never needed to be an overwhelming hit in order to turn a profit. Going by the general rule of thumb, Into the Spider-Verse needs to cross $180 million worldwide in order to break even - a number it should have no trouble reaching. Even if its time at in the #1 position is short-lived, odds are it will have decent legs throughout the season, considering the word-of-mouth.

It also helps that Into the Spider-Verse isn’t facing much competition this week. The box office is coming off of its worst weekend of the year, and the only other new wide releases are Mortal Engines and The Mule. Neither of those pose much of a challenge to Spider-Man; the former, hamstrung by largely negative reviews, should earn only $9.6 million this weekend, while the latter is expected to post $17 million.

More: All 7 Spider-Man Movies Ranked

Source: Box Office Pro

  • Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse Release Date: 2018-12-14