'Spider-Man' is expected to end two-year stretch of COVID-era duds

“Spider-Man: No Way Home” is getting the kind of hype that makes it seem like the good old days for movies -- at least for a week.

“Spider-Man: No Way Home” is getting the kind of hype that makes it seem like the good old days for movies -- at least for a week.

Forecasters expect the film from Sony Group Corp. and Walt Disney Co.’s Marvel division to gross more than US$190 million over the weekend in North America, and at least one thinks receipts could top US$200 million. Sony itself predicts US$130 million, which would still make it far and away the best debut of the pandemic.

“This is one of the rare movies where it’s obviously going to be massive,” said Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at forecaster Boxoffice Pro.

If it delivers, “No Way Home” will be the first film to generate pre-pandemic-like results since the coronavirus crippled the movie business almost two years ago. It would prove that Hollywood can pull fans of all ages back to theaters, even with the omicron variant raising fresh fears. 

The movie industry’s recovery from the 2020 shutdown has been choppy. Few films have managed to achieve broad appeal, virus anxiety remains high in some places and strong reviews haven’t prevented flops.

Theaters had a robust October, but sales slowed in November. And December hasn’t been great: The well-received “West Side Story” remake from Steven Spielberg disappointed in its opening last weekend. This year’s biggest domestic picture -- Marvel’s “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” -- has brought in US$244.5 million in ticket sales, a fraction of what big movies used to ring up.