'Matrix' and 'Sing' Sequels Enter the Christmas Box Office Race

The Matrix Resurrections and Sing 2 will leap into theaters over this long holiday weekend, but they don't stand much of a chance of beating Spider-Man: No Way Home. The record-breaking hit is certain to win its second weekend of release, continuing the undisputed domination of Marvel movies at the pandemic-era box office. Not even a sci-fi action movie like The Matrix is likely to draw the attention of moviegoers who seem to want only one thing: more Marvel superheroes. Read on for details.

Via Box Office Mojo.

This past weekend saw box office records getting shattered left and right as Spider-Man: No Way Home scored the second highest domestic opening of all time, taking the box office beyond merely being “good for the pandemic.” In one weekend it became the year’s top grossing film in the U.S. and the sixth highest worldwide, and by the end of the year it may very well become number one. While Spider-Man will continue to reign at the box office for a number of weeks (it just took home the third best Monday gross ever), the slew of films big and small opening this week promises something for everyone, and the Christmas frame won’t be entirely dominated by the webslinger.

The most hotly anticipated of the new releases is The Matrix Resurrections which opens Wednesday. The fourth film in the series, and the first in 19 years, is helmed by Lana Wachowski and brings back Keanu Reeves as Neo and Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity. It is the final film of Warner’s day-and-date theatrical/HBO Max offerings and has a good shot at being the biggest of them, though it may be held back by theater shutdowns and restrictions as we have started to see in a few countries.

The original Matrix was an unexpected hit in 1999, and after its $27.7 million opening it went on to gross $171 million domestically and $466 million worldwide. When the sequel The Matrix Reloaded opened to $91.7 million in 2003, it was the second biggest opening ever (behind, of all films, the original 2002 Spider-Man), and it held the record for the biggest opening for an R-rated film until Deadpool in 2016. Its domestic cume of $281 million and global cume of $742 million remain the series best, and the global gross was again the best until Deadpool. The Matrix Revolutions, which came out six months after Reloaded, was a disappointment, with a $48.4 million opening, $139 million domestic cume, and $427 million global cume.

Fans have been waiting nearly two decades for another Matrix film, and in Resurrections’ early rollout in a handful of markets last weekend it ranked among the year’s biggest openings. There are a few glitches in the matrix, though. The streaming availability is certain to cut into the gross, and there is also the issue of Spider-Man taking up many of the premium large format screens. Resurrections’ box office prospects are likely closer to the first and third films than the blockbuster middle entry, at least in the domestic market. One thing the film has going for it that most recent Hollywood films lack is a release date in China, where it is set to bow on January 14.

Another sequel opening Wednesday is Sing 2. Sing was a big hit for Universal and Illumination, grossing $270 million domestically and $634 million worldwide. It also holds the curious record of being the highest grossing film to never hit number one at the box office. 2021 has yet to have an animated film even get beyond $100 million, though Disney’s Encanto may hit that in the coming weeks, having had solid holds since its Thanksgiving opening. While Sing 2 is unlikely to match its predecessor at the box office, it may be the film to break out of the pandemic era’s animated box-office slump. The film has a large voice cast that includes Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, and Scarlett Johansson.

Get the rest of the story at Box Office Mojo.