Spider-Man is still sitting comfortably on Hollywood's throne-but the movie everyone tried to bury just delivered the weekend's most delicious surprise.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day remained No. 1 at the North American box office for a fifth consecutive weekend, earning an estimated $22.2 million. The Sony and Marvel juggernaut has now collected approximately $891.5 million domestically and a staggering $2.33 billion worldwide, making it the fourth-highest-grossing movie in history.
Tom Holland's latest adventure has also surpassed Avengers: Endgame to become the second-highest-grossing domestic release of all time. Only Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which earned $936.6 million in North America, remains ahead of it.
However, the weekend's juiciest story belonged to a coyote Hollywood once left for dead.
Coyote vs. Acme finally raced into theaters and opened in second place with approximately $15.5 million. That would be a respectable debut for any family comedy, but it feels particularly triumphant for a completed film that Warner Bros. once intended to shelve as a tax write-off.
The $70 million production stars Will Forte, John Cena and Lana Condor. Following outrage from filmmakers and fans, independent distributor Ketchup Entertainment reportedly acquired the movie for around $50 million and gave Wile E. Coyote the theatrical release he had been repeatedly denied.
Audiences appear pleased that the coyote survived. The movie received an impressive "A" CinemaScore and a 95% approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Strong word of mouth could help it remain competitive during the coming weeks, transforming one of Hollywood's most controversial cancellations into an unlikely theatrical success story.
Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey finished close behind in third place with $14.3 million. Now in its seventh weekend, the epic has earned approximately $563.8 million domestically and $1.55 billion worldwide, making it the highest-grossing movie of Nolan's career.
Insidious: Out of the Further dropped to fourth place with $10.1 million. The horror sequel fell approximately 60% from its opening weekend and has accumulated around $43.6 million domestically.
The weekend's most painful news belonged to Ridley Scott. His post-apocalyptic drama The Dog Stars opened in fifth place with only $8 million from 3,330 North American theaters. It added approximately $11.3 million internationally, but that offers little comfort for a movie reportedly carrying a production budget as high as $100 million.
Unless audiences suddenly discover The Dog Stars, the expensive production could become one of late summer's most conspicuous box-office disappointments.
For now, Spider-Man remains untouchable, Nolan continues counting his billions, and Ridley Scott may be nursing another costly wound. Yet the weekend's real winner could be Wile E. Coyote-a character who survived Warner Bros., escaped a corporate vault and landed directly in second place.
After all those defective Acme products, the coyote's comeback plan finally worked.
