'Spider-Man' stays strong, again topping N.America box office

LOS ANGELES — "Spider-Man: No Way Home" again dominated in North American theaters with an estimated $52.7 million weekend take, while topping the $600 million mark domestically in its third week out, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations said Sunday.

The strong results for Sony's superhero sequel -- last weekend it surpassed the $1 billion mark globally -- have breathed welcome life into the movie industry as it battles to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. British actor Tom Holland stars as the Marvel webslinger.

With families starting to return to theaters, "Sing 2," Universal's animated musical sequel, took in a respectable $19.6 million, again placing second for the Friday-through-Sunday period. 

Its huge voice cast includes Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson and U2 frontman Bono. 

But there was a considerable drop-off after that, with the third top-earning film, 20th Century's "The King's Man," taking in just $4.5 million. 

A prequel to the "Kingsman" spy films, it stars Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton, Rhys Ifans and Matthew Goode.

In fourth spot, "American Underdog" grossed $4.1 million. The Lionsgate film stars Zachary Levi in the true story of Kurt Warner, who went from stocking grocery store shelves to being a National Football League MVP. 

And in fifth was sci-fi prequel "The Matrix: Resurrections," from Warner Bros., at $3.8 million. Variety called its performance "disastrous," given the film's $190 million production budget.

Rounding out the top 10 were:

"West Side Story" ($2.1 million)

"Ghostbusters: Afterlife" ($1.4 million)

"Licorice Pizza" ($1.25 million)

"A Journal for Jordan" ($1.2 million)

"Encanto" ($1.1 million)