“Amazing Spider-Man” is off to a spectacular start at the domestic box office.
The reboot pulled in an estimated $7.5 million from midnight screenings Monday night.
The midnight numbers indicate a total haul somewhere in the $110 – $120 million range for the lengthy Fourth of July holiday weekend.
While the midnight take puts it on par with 2007’s “Spider-Man 3” and 2009’s “Iron Man 2” (both around $7.5 million), “Amazing” may not reach the same epic opening numbers as its predecessor. “Spider-Man 3” went on to gross a staggering $151 million in its opening weekend, and “Amazing” is proving somewhat harder to track. Its Tuesday opening is a rare occurrence, however the latest “Spider-Man” has the advantage of playing in significantly more IMAX theaters and on pricier 3D screens.
The film did especially well at IMAX locations, where it earned $1.2 million (around 16 of the total gross).
Spidey couldn’t beat out some of his comic book-dervied competition, however. Earlier this year, “The Avengers” made an eye-popping $18.7 million in midnight showings, while in 2009, “The Dark Knight” scooped up an equally impressive $18.5 million in midnight showings.
Sony’s decision to reboot the Marvel superhero series was questioned by a number of fans when the news was first announced, but “Amazing” seems to be clicking with general moviegoers. Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone lead the all-new cast under director Marc Webb (“500 Days of Summer”). The successful box office forecast will no doubt lead the studio to fast-track the already-in-the-works sequel.
Back in 2002, Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire’s first “Spider-Man” picked up $114.8 million in its first weekend. Two years later, “Spider-Man 2” debuted to $88.1 million.
Look for updated estimates throughout the week on HitFix.