Peter Parker was back to his amazing best at the weekend as the latest instalment in The Amazing Spider-Man series – Spider-Man: No Way Home – smashed box office records in the US and abroad.
By Monday evening UAE time, as the final tallies came in from North American cinemas, studio Sony was upgrading its assessment of the film’s opening weekend gross to $260 million, overtaking Avengers: Infinity War to record the second-highest domestic opening weekend ever, behind only Avengers: Endgame’s eye-watering $357.1m home debut.
Globally, No Way Home has taken a further $341m, a figure that could still rise as late results are reported, and one that is all the more impressive considering that the film has not yet opened in China, the world’s second-biggest market. On top of that, many parts of the world are still subject to restrictions on cinema capacity owing to the pandemic, or simple audience caution where official restrictions may not be in place, making the haul even more astonishing.
Spider-Man joins some exalted company in the top 10 highest-grossing opening weekend charts globally. Unsurprisingly, several of his Marvel colleagues feature, alongside a smattering of DC superheroes, and of course, some Jedi competition. How many of your favourites make the top 10?
All global opening weekend figures are courtesy of Box Office Mojo, and include takings from a film’s opening previews until the end of the first Sunday of release.
Here are the top 10 films with the highest-grossing opening weekends:
10. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016, $422m)
9. Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017, $450m)
8. Captain Marvel (2019, $456m)
7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011, $483m)
6. Jurassic World (2015, $525m)
5. Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015, $528m)
4. Fate of the Furious (2017, $541m)
3. Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021, $601m as of Monday)
2. Avengers: Infinity War (2018, $640m)
1. Avengers: Endgame (2019, $1.2 billion)
10. 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' (2016, $422 million)
The second film in the then-DC Extended Universe brought the comic book giant’s two most famous characters together and was intended to be the moment DC started to win back the position of most successful comic book publisher on screen that it had held prior to the MCU’s launch with 2008’s Iron Man. Critics were unconvinced, however, resulting in a 28 per cent score on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences weren’t quite so harsh, and following its impressive opening weekend, the film went on to pull in a respectable $874m worldwide in total.
9. 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' (2017, $450 million)
The second film in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, and eighth in the Skywalker Saga, finds Rey on Ahch-To trying to convince the hermit Luke Skywalker to rejoin the rebellion against the First Order and teach her the ways of The Force. It doesn’t go entirely smoothly, but eventually Luke is reunited with Leia, Chewie, R2-D2 et al, and faces off against the evil Kylo Ren. Critics loved it, resulting in a 91 per cent Rotten Tomatoes rating, though Star Wars fans would no doubt have turned out in droves even if the critics had given it a zero per cent mauling. The film went on to gross $1.3bn globally.
8. 'Captain Marvel' (2019, $456 million)
An impressive performance for one of Marvel’s less well-known characters, who sits at number eight on the chart. The film’s success was perhaps in part given a helping hand by its catching the zeitgeist of the #metoo campaign and growing frustration at the lack of strong female roles in Hollywood.
That said, this ability to catch the prevailing mood may also have worked against it – online trolls “review bombing” in response to star Brie Larson’s perceived feminism were blamed for the film garnering only a 33 per cent Rotten Tomatoes audience rating from 58,000 reviews by 8am on the day of release. That’s more reviews than Avengers: Infinity War accrued in its entire theatrical run, and led to the website making wholesale changes to how audience opinions are collected.
7. 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2' (2011, $483 million)
The final instalment in the Harry Potter franchise was also the highest grossing – doubtless helped in part by being the only Harry Potter film to release in 3D. Indeed, on release in 2011, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 claimed the record for highest-grossing opening weekend at the time.
It also went on to become, at the time, the third-highest-grossing film of all time with a total global haul of $1.34bn over the course of its theatrical run. All the old favourites, including Potter himself, Hermione and Ron returned for this final chapter in which – spoiler alert – the former child wizard, now aged 17, defeats the evil Voldemort and brings peace to the world.
6. 'Jurassic World' (2015, $525 million)
The fourth film in Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park franchise brings us into the rarefied air of films that have cleared the half-billion-dollar mark on their opening weekend. Spielberg actually came up with the script for a fourth film back in 2001, when Jurassic Park III was still in production, but the film remained in development limbo for almost 15 years before finally hitting the big screen.
The film introduced us to new heroes in the form of Chris Pratt's and Bryce Dallas Howard’s park employees Owen and Claire, a new director in Colin Trevorrow, plenty of the same old dinosaurs audiences know and love, and a brand new, giant, mutant dinosaur, the Indominus Rex, to keep things fresh.
5. 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' (2015, $528 million)
The first part of JJ Abrams' Star Wars sequel trilogy was surely one of the most eagerly anticipated events in all of cinema history, coming as it did a full decade after George Lucas had brought his prequel trilogy to a close with 2005’s Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.
Abrams had a lot to live up to following the lukewarm reception to all three of Lucas’s own attempts to reinvigorate the series in the nineties and noughties, and although The Force Awakens wasn’t perfect, with brand new cast joining the old favourites and plenty of fanboy nods, it largely set out to do what it intended.
The film has a 93 per cent critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, set numerous box office records on release, including the then-highest opening weekend of the time, and remains one of only five films to have grossed over $2bn in total worldwide.
4. 'The Fate of the Furious' (2017, $541 million)
The eighth instalment of the Vin Diesel-fronted car caper is, intriguingly, the only film to make this top 10 in which neither heroes nor villains feature any form of magic, mutation, or superpower. That doesn’t necessarily make the automotive antics of the gang any more believable, but it may explain the enduring success of the franchise.
The Fast and the Furious team have firmly believed in offering strong, positive characters from across the spectrum of gender and ethnicity since long before “diversity” was a Hollywood watchword. Audiences seem to appreciate the effort – the franchise has pulled in a total of $5.9bn globally to date, making it the seventh-highest-grossing.
3. 'Spider-Man: No Way Home' (2021, $601 million as of Monday December 20)
It’s no surprise that the all-conquering comic book behemoth that is Marvel makes up the whole of the top three in our chart, and No Way Home is the highest-opening film that doesn’t make up a part of the official MCU. Tracking had suggested that the latest Spider-Man adventure would set box offices alight on release at the weekend, but given the circumstances in which the Sony-produced film opened, its unrelenting march to the top three is incredible.
It would probably be fair to describe the film, on current evidence, as having finally revived the post-Covid box office where the likes of James Bond: No Time to Die, The Eternals and Godzilla vs Kong have, at best, achieved moderate success. A drastic second-week drop off could put paid to that theory, but things certainly look promising.
2. 'Avengers: Infinity War' (2018, $640 million)
1. 'Avengers: Endgame' (2019, $1.2 billion)
Everyone knew that Avengers: Endgame was going to be a success, but surely even the most optimistic of Marvel and Disney’s executives couldn’t have predicted quite how much of a success. Its opening weekend takings dwarf those of second-placed Infinity War, almost doubling its haul, and it’s hard to see anything overtaking it until inflation has made some major increases to ticket prices several years down the line.
The film also went on to become the highest-grossing of all time over the course of its theatrical run, with a massive take exceeding $2.7bn. Avatar has since retaken that crown thanks to some tactical rereleases in selected markets, but with only £50m keeping Endgame back in second place, a quick Director’s Cut or commemorative rerelease could easily see it taking back top spot.
Read more
Is Tom Holland the best Spider-Man yet?
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
LIVERPOOL SQUAD
Alisson Becker, Virgil van Dijk, Georginio Wijnaldum, James Milner, Naby Keita, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah, Joe Gomez, Adrian, Jordan Henderson, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Adam Lallana, Andy Lonergan, Xherdan Shaqiri, Andy Robertson, Divock Origi, Curtis Jones, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Neco Williams
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
The specs: Lamborghini Aventador SVJ
Price, base: Dh1,731,672
Engine: 6.5-litre V12
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 770hp @ 8,500rpm
Torque: 720Nm @ 6,750rpm
Fuel economy: 19.6L / 100km
'Nightmare Alley'
Director:Guillermo del Toro
Stars:Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara
Rating: 3/5
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
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Gender pay parity on track in the UAE
The UAE has a good record on gender pay parity, according to Mercer's Total Remuneration Study.
"In some of the lower levels of jobs women tend to be paid more than men, primarily because men are employed in blue collar jobs and women tend to be employed in white collar jobs which pay better," said Ted Raffoul, career products leader, Mena at Mercer. "I am yet to see a company in the UAE – particularly when you are looking at a blue chip multinationals or some of the bigger local companies – that actively discriminates when it comes to gender on pay."
Mr Raffoul said most gender issues are actually due to the cultural class, as the population is dominated by Asian and Arab cultures where men are generally expected to work and earn whereas women are meant to start a family.
"For that reason, we see a different gender gap. There are less women in senior roles because women tend to focus less on this but that’s not due to any companies having a policy penalising women for any reasons – it’s a cultural thing," he said.
As a result, Mr Raffoul said many companies in the UAE are coming up with benefit package programmes to help working mothers and the career development of women in general.
Like a Fading Shadow
Antonio Muñoz Molina
Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez
Tuskar Rock Press (pp. 310)
Company%20profile
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STAGE%201%20RESULTS
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EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
STAY%2C%20DAUGHTER
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EAuthor%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EYasmin%20Azad%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESwift%20Press%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EAvailable%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Fourth-round clashes for British players
- Andy Murray (1) v Benoit Paire, Centre Court (not before 4pm)
- Johanna Konta (6) v Caroline Garcia (21), Court 1 (4pm)
The biog
Name: Younis Al Balooshi
Nationality: Emirati
Education: Doctorate degree in forensic medicine at the University of Bonn
Hobbies: Drawing and reading books about graphic design
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
Ipaf in numbers
Established: 2008
Prize money: $50,000 (Dh183,650) for winners and $10,000 for those on the shortlist.
Winning novels: 13
Shortlisted novels: 66
Longlisted novels: 111
Total number of novels submitted: 1,780
Novels translated internationally: 66
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
AS%20WE%20EXIST
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The rules of the road keeping cyclists safe
Cyclists must wear a helmet, arm and knee pads
Have a white front-light and a back red-light on their bike
They must place a number plate with reflective light to the back of the bike to alert road-users
Avoid carrying weights that could cause the bike to lose balance
They must cycle on designated lanes and areas and ride safe on pavements to avoid bumping into pedestrians
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Company%20profile%20
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BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
The%20Little%20Mermaid%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Rob%20Marshall%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHalle%20Bailey%2C%20Jonah%20Hauer-King%2C%20Melissa%20McCarthy%2C%20Javier%20Bardem%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2%2F5%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Best Academy: Ajax and Benfica
Best Agent: Jorge Mendes
Best Club : Liverpool
Best Coach: Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
Best Goalkeeper: Alisson Becker
Best Men’s Player: Cristiano Ronaldo
Best Partnership of the Year Award by SportBusiness: Manchester City and SAP
Best Referee: Stephanie Frappart
Best Revelation Player: Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid and Portugal)
Best Sporting Director: Andrea Berta (Atletico Madrid)
Best Women's Player: Lucy Bronze
Best Young Arab Player: Achraf Hakimi
Kooora – Best Arab Club: Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia)
Kooora – Best Arab Player: Abderrazak Hamdallah (Al-Nassr FC, Saudi Arabia)
Player Career Award: Miralem Pjanic and Ryan Giggs
Stan%20Lee
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Teenage%20Mutant%20Ninja%20Turtles%3A%20Shredder's%20Revenge
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THE%20SPECS
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THE%20FLASH
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