Spider-Man returned to the big screen this weekend, taking in an estimated $120.5 million at the domestic box office.

from sony “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” the highly anticipated sequel to the Academy Award-winning “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” had the second-biggest opening of 2023, just behind universal “Super Mario Bros. Movie”.

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The film also marks the third best opening weekend for any Spider-Man film, animated or live-action.

“As a PG-animated film, ‘Across The Spider-Verse’ is able to capture a younger audience beyond the core fans of PG-13 live-action films and thus ensures long-lasting intergenerational appeal. term of the character and the movies,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore. “This is money in the bank for the studio and the theaters.”

“Across the Spider-Verse” is estimated to have drawn in more than 9 million viewers over the weekend, according to data from EntTelligence. Movie tickets account for about 56% of all foot traffic to theaters Thursday through Sunday, the data firm reported.

Additionally, 29% of viewers viewed the film in a premium format and paid an average of $4.52 more per ticket.

“This debut is further proof that audiences are eager for cutting-edge new takes on both superheroes and animated movies,” said Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at BoxOffice.com.

Sony’s animated Spider-Man sequel comes on the heels of several strong box office openings, including Disney and Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3” and Disney’s “The Little Mermaid.”

With another $10.2 million in ticket sales through its fifth weekend in theaters, “Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 3” has generated about $322.7 million domestically. The film has grossed $780.1 million worldwide.

“The Little Mermaid” experienced a 58% drop in ticket sales from its first weekend to its second, on par with industry averages, adding $40.6 million to its cumulative global gross. The film has secured $186.2 million in domestic ticket sales and stands at $326.7 million globally.

In addition, Disney’s “The Boogey Man” opened with $12 million in domestic ticket sales and Universal’s “Fast X” added $9.24 million in ticket sales over the weekend, bringing its domestic gross to $128.4 million.

Currently, the year-to-date domestic box office tally is around $3.6 billion, just 21.9% below pre-pandemic levels, according to Comscore data. The 2023 box office so far this year is 27.9% above the same period in 2022.

“Between Spidey’s great start, the strength of ‘The Little Mermaid,’ the horror offering of ‘Boogeyman,’ the remaining prowess of ‘Guardians’ and ‘Fast X,’ and much more to come, theater owners, the studios and the public are now going full speed into the most exciting summer market in four years,” Robbins said.

Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal distributed “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” and “Fast X.”