'Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse' Swings High At Box Office Again, 'The Flash' Craters

It was another good weekend for the hotly popular animated sequel, "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse." The film was No. 1 again over the weekend, topping the domestic box office with another $19 million in ticket sales per figures from Box Office Mojo. Meanwhile, Warner Bros. and DC's "The Flash" continues to crater at the box office, with the film losing 72.5% in its second weekend, dropping to No. 3 and $15 million in its second frame. It's not looking good for the Ezra Miller-starring comic book superhero film right now.

"Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" now brings its current domestic box office total to $316 million, far surpassing the $190 million domestic take of the original. The film has also brought in $559 million worldwide, and that number continues to climb. At this point, "Across the Spider-Verse" should easily surpass the domestic take of "Spider-Man: Homecoming" at $334 million before it leaves theaters.

As previously reported by The Blast, "The Flash" already had a very slow start at the box office for its opening weekend, bringing in only $55 million weekend. With a production budget likely in the range of $200 million, it's highly unlikely the film will manage to break even for the studio. At this point, the film has brought in only $87 million domestically and $210 million worldwide.

While the film isn't doing well at theaters, DC Studios CEO James Gunn still appears to have faith in its director, Andy Muschietti. Gunn hired Muschietti to helm the next "Batman" movie for DC Studios, which will be part of the brand's next phase of theatrical films. The new "Batman" feature is titled "The Brave and the Bold" and will showcase Batman/Bruce Wayne along with his son, Damian Wayne, who becomes the new Robin. Muschietti's sister, Barbara Muschietti, who also produced "The Flash," has also been hired to produce the film.

Despite having a relatively low opening weekend, Pixar's "Elemental" had a fairly decent hold over the weekend, coming in at No. 2 and bringing in $18.4 million, following closely behind "Across the Spider-Verse." The CG-animated family film dropped an impressive 37.4% for its second frame. The problem "Elemental" faces is that it, much like "The Flash," has an exorbitant budget of $200 million. So, it will need some remarkable holds in subsequent weeks in an attempt to recoup some of those costs.

The new R-rated comedy starring Jennifer Lawrence, "No Hard Feelings," brought in $15 million over the weekend and came in at third. The film garnered mixed reviews from critics, rating 66% on Rotten Tomatoes, but it currently has an audience score of 87%. At a budget of about $45 million, $15 million is a fairly decent opening weekend for an R-rated comedy.

Currently, Sony Pictures has its sequel to "Across the Spider-Verse," "Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse" scheduled for a March 29, 2024 release. However, recently there has been online chatter that "Beyond the Spider-Verse" will not make that targeted release date. Sony has yet to delay the feature. An animator for the film's animation team, speaking under anonymity, informed Vulture, "There’s no way that movie’s coming out then"

Co-star Hailee Steinfeld, who voices Gwen Stacy/Spider-Woman in the first two films, informed The Hollywood Reporter that she's yet to record any lines for the threequel. So it should be interesting to see where the third film ends up.