Spider-Man: No Way Home Becomes First Movie to Make $1 Billion at the Box Office in COVID Pandemic Era
Sony Pictures/Marvel Entertainment/Courtesy Everett Collection
Spider-Man: No Way Home has hit a major milestone!
The film has become the first to make $1 billion at the box office worldwide since the COVID-19 pandemic began, according to CNN Business. It took 12 days to do so.
Spider-Man: No Way Home — which stars Tom Holland, Zendaya and Benedict Cumberbatch — is also the third-fastest movie to reach the billion-dollar milestone: In 2019, Avengers: Endgame and Avengers: Infinity War did so in five days and 11 days, respectively.
The last movie to garner $1 billion at the box office was Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, which hit theaters in December 2019. Many countries began shutting down due to COVID-19 in the months immediately following the film's release.
RELATED: Spider-Man: No Way Home Flies with Third-Best Movie Opening of All Time, $253 Million Debut
During its opening weekend, Spider-Man: No Way Home earned $253 million at the domestic box office, making it the most successful opening weekend for a movie in 2021.
It also had the third-best movie opening ever behind Avengers: Endgame ($357.1 million) and Avengers: Infinity War ($257.7 million).
Columbia Pictures
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"This weekend's historic Spider-Man: No Way Home results, from all over the world and in the face of many challenges, reaffirm the unmatched cultural impact that exclusive theatrical films can have when they are made and marketed with vision and resolve," said Tom Rothman, Sony Pictures chairman and CEO, in a statement following the record-breaking weekend.
"All of us at Sony Pictures are deeply grateful to the fabulous talent, both in front of and behind the camera, that produced such a landmark film," Rothman added.
RELATED: Spider-Man: No Way Home Sees Biggest Fandango Presales Since 2019's Avengers: Endgame
The third installment in the franchise, Spider-Man: No Way Home follows Holland's Peter Parker navigating the world after his superhero identity is revealed. Parker attempts to change the course of history with help from Dr. Strange (Cumberbatch), but the two hit a major snag when they accidentally open up the multiverse, allowing villains from alternate realities to come after Parker.
"I've loved every minute of it," Holland, 25, said of playing the character in an interview with PEOPLE earlier this month. "I've been so grateful to Marvel and Sony for giving us the opportunity and keeping us on and allowing our characters to progress. It's been amazing."
"That's why for me, I don't want to say goodbye to Spider-Man — but I feel like we might be ready to say goodbye to Spider-Man," he added.
Spider-Man: No Way Home is now playing in theaters.
