Spider-Man Tom Holland “heats up” theaters even with new movie

The film, produced by Sony and adapted from a video game, has a large budget. This action blockbuster is a test of Tom Holland’s popularity outside of “Spider-Man”. “Uncharted” received many good reviews, so it is safe enough for the 25-year-old British actor to continue to affirm his appeal at the box office. Another advantage of the film is that it is rated PG-13 and is based on a popular video game series, so the audience is also wider.

The film is directed by Ruben Fleischer. Before “Uncharted”, Ruben Fleischer just returned to the long-running project “Zombieland” after leading “Venom” with Tom Hardy to the top of the box office. “Uncharted” is expected to earn about $52 million from 4,275 theaters across North America this holiday. This is an impressive result during the Covid-19 pandemic, but this does not mean that the film’s road to success will be easy. “Uncharted” has an investment budget of up to $120 million, so the producers are hoping that the international market will be the main factor for the film to recoup its investment.

So “Uncharted” has locked in a crucial release date in China, the world’s largest theatrical market. Visual effects-heavy action adventures like “Uncharted” tend to do well in China. But China has been quite selective about the Hollywood films it releases there lately. So it’s not a sure thing that “Uncharted” will succeed in China. 

“It’s a great start,” said David A. Gross, who runs the film consultancy Franchise Entertainment Research. “Action-adventure movies based on video games are big, and this weekend’s box office is nearly double the average for the genre. With a big budget, ‘Uncharted’ needed to connect with all the markets quickly, and it’s doing just that.”

As Gross notes, “Uncharted” is a favorite genre of the international market. Over the holiday weekend, “Uncharted” grossed $55.4 million from 62 countries and territories, and its global total has surpassed $100 million. The film’s global total now stands at $139 million.

Paul Dergarabedian, a media analyst at Comscore, praised “Uncharted” as a perfectly marketed film that appealed to both younger and more mature audiences. “It’s clearly been a huge moneymaker for Sony,” he said.

Audiences gave the film a B+ on CinemaScore. The weekend audience was 60% male, and 70% were under the age of 35.

Sony executives said “Uncharted” enjoyed a stronger-than-expected opening weekend because it was released only in theaters. Unlike many films that were released simultaneously on apps and in theaters during the pandemic, such as “The Matrix Resurrections,” “Jungle Cruise” and “Black Widow,” audiences couldn’t watch “Uncharted” at home.

“This result is a testament to the audience’s desire for the theatrical experience that Sony has been betting on,” said Josh Greenstein, chairman of Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group. “Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg are great together.”

“Uncharted” dominated the box office, but it wasn’t the only domestic release to beat expectations. Channing Tatum’s PG-13 adventure “Dog” took second place at the U.S. box office, with $15.1 million from 3,677 theaters. As of Monday, the film had grossed $18.05 million, a blockbuster for a movie that isn’t based on a comic book or a sequel to a successful blockbuster. With a $15 million production budget, “Dog” was a triumph for Tatum, who directed with Reid Carolin, as well as producers MGM and FilmNation Entertainment.

At CinemaScore, audiences gave the film an A-. Of the audience, 54% were women, 73% were 25 and older, and 37% were over 45.

Tom Holland proved his box office prowess by landing two films in the top 10 at the US box office over the weekend. The blockbuster “Spider-Man: No Way Home” took third place with $7.2 million over the weekend and hit $8.8 million on Monday. This made “Spider-Man: No Way Home” the third highest-grossing film of all time with $771.74 million. Impressively, since its release in December, the latest adventure of Spider-Man has remained in the top 5 at US box offices.

Disney and 20th Century Fox’s murder mystery “Death on the Nile” took fourth place with $6.3 million, down from $12.8 million in its opening weekend. The film’s global gross is estimated at $75 million, which isn’t impressive considering the film cost $90 million to produce.

Paramount’s comedy “Jackass Forever” rounded out the top five with $5.2 million from 3,071 theaters. It has grossed about $47.7 million to date, which is impressive considering the film cost just $10 million to produce.

Meanwhile, Jennifer Lopez’s romantic comedy “Marry Me” didn’t fare so well. Coming in at No. 6 on the chart, “Marry Me” grossed $3.6 million over the weekend, down 61 percent from its opening weekend. The film is expected to gross $17.4 million domestically. “Marry Me,” starring Owen Wilson and Maluma, is available simultaneously on NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming service.