Pakistani cinemas closed for a year and a half due to lockdown reopening in October 2021, but audiences were reluctant to turn to cinemas. Local and Hollywood films released over the last ten weeks have done disappointing business. These include big movies like Fast & Furious 9, No Time to Die, and Khel Khel Mein, which failed to return to the box office.
However, Spider-Man: No Way Home, released on December 17, did what was not expected. The film not only captivated Pakistani cinema owners and distributors but also set new business records worldwide.
Spider-Man: No Way Home, has raised $300 million in the first six days of release (including pre-release Thursday shows) from the United States and Canada alone, and collected $340 million from other countries, grossing a total of $638 million. It should be noted that the total budget for this film is $200 million.
At the Pakistani box office, the film broke the record for bookings for the biggest hit of the last ten years, Avenger: Infinity War, while in the first five days of its release, the film made a record business of 64 million. With a strong start of 14 million on the first day of release, Spider-Man: No Way Home, closed the first weekend with a figure of Rs 44 million.
In the first three days, the shows filled all the cinemas in the big cities, while at the end of the weekend the film business is showing a boom. Night shows in particular are doing well, and cinemas are still crowded. The film will likely close around 90 million first week.
The smoky business of Spider-Man: No Way Home, will also be a beneficiary for the next week’s release The Matrix Resurrections. The pre-release hype of The Matrix Resurrections may have a positive effect on the advance booking of the movie.