Spider-Man: Homecomingis currently looking at a opening weekend box office total of well over $100 million after making $50.5 million on Friday, which would make it the third biggest opening of 2017 afterBeauty and the BeastandGuardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2. This should not really come as a surprise to anyone. The press forJon Watts' take on the tale of Peter Parker and his web-slinging alter-ego has pegged the film as a kind of turning point for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, receiving some of the best reviews of any Marvel film to date.
And though I agree thatSpider-Man: Homecomingis one of the best films that the MCU has produced thus far, alongsideAnt-Man,Doctor Strange,Iron Man 3, andCaptain America: Civil War, my primary issues with Marvel’s output are just as prevalent in Watts' movie as any other MCU film. There is still a tendency to edit around story beats rather than allowing an editor find their own rhythm with the film alongside the director, and the filmmaking similarly continues to be pinned to a (very good) script. And there is, of course, the constant telegraphing of some bigger fight to come (Avengers: Infinity War) rather than focusing on what’s going on in the moment. There are entire sequences whereHomecomingdiminishes its action and its formidable emotional impact by building up anticipation for sequels most people are going to see no matter what.
Nevertheless, Watts,Tom Holland, and the entire creative team deserve major kudos for making a thoroughly entertaining, very funny, and occasionally moving action romp. The same kudos should continue to be levied atEdgar Wright’sBaby Driveras well, which is currently in the third spot with $3.9 million. The continued word-of-mouth success ofBaby Driveris truly something to be inspired by in the same year that this sort of no-frills success helped makeJordan Peelea major filmmaker andGet Outa fiscal and artistic triumph.
And though movies likeDespicable Me 3andTransformers: The Last Knightare making back their (enormous) budgets in one way or another, their monetary success is business as usual. The former is currently in the second spot with $11.3 million, whileMichael Bay’s blow-up-o-rama is hanging in at number five with $1.8 million. And then, in fourth place, there isPatty Jenkins’Wonder Woman, a film that is at once business as usual for the DC brand and a breakthrough for female filmmakers and female-fronted blockbusters in general. The very fact that the film is still in the top five in its sixth frame, bringing in $2.9 million on Friday, should tell you just how unique a work Jenkins,Gal Gadot, and their team have crafted here. Here’s hoping there are more stories likeWonder Woman,Get Out, andBaby Driverby the end of 2017.
Here’s your top five:
Friday Domestic BO
Total Domestic BO
1. ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’
$50,500,000
2. ‘Despicable Me 3’
$11,330,000
$126,520,660
3. ‘Baby Driver’
$3,900,000
$48,033,072
4. ‘Wonder Woman’
$2,940,000
$361,591,191
5. ‘Transformers: The Last Knight’
$1,805,000
$114,421,760
