Two superhero movies were released in June, but the one hailed as "the greatest superhero [movie] ever made" has not lived up to that description at the box office.
The Flash suffered a 73% decline which is the worst second-weekend drop for a superhero movie behind only Morbius, meaning it made a mere $15.3 million this past weekend. It's important to note this is a considerably worse drop than both Black Adam (-59%) and Shazam! Fury of the Gods (-69%), both of which lost Warner Bros. money when all was said and done.
However, bad news for The Flash was very good news for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
The animated sequel received an unexpected boost this weekend, earning a spectacular $19.3 million during its fourth weekend in theaters. A movie returning to the top spot this late into its theatrical run is unheard of, and Across the Spider-Verse has now made $316 million in North America and $560 million worldwide.
The web-slinger faced stiff competition from Pixar's Elemental as that was in second place with a solid $18.5 million. While the movie has underperformed both critically and commercially, it's so far earned $65 million domestically and $121 million globally.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is definitely exceeding expectations and the movie has now earned considerably more than its predecessor, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (which grossed $384.3 million back in 2018).
The sequel will likely finish its run with $675 million - $700 million, a great result that, while not quite up there with Spider-Man: No Way Home's $1.9 billion haul, is an amazing potential finish that bodes well for next year's Beyond the Spider-Verse...assuming it ends up swinging into theaters in 2024. Right now, it looks unlikely.
"A contender for the best Spider-Man film yet and easily the greatest animated movie ever made," we said in our review, "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is a jaw-dropping spectacle, a feast for the senses, and an instant Marvel classic."
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is now playing in theaters.