It was a Merry Christmas and then some for Peter Parker as the skyscraper-swinging superhero’s latest adventure, Spider-Man: No Way Home, soared past the $1 billion barrier at the global box office in just its second week of release. That makes Sony’s smash hit not only the fastest blockbuster to accomplish that ten-figure feat since 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but also the first billion-dollar grosser worldwide since the pandemic began. But while Spidey was busy fighting crime (and raking in loot), the holiday’s slate of new releases— Sing 2, The Matrix Resurrections, The King's Man, American Underdog, and A Journal for Jordan—were left to divvy up the box-office leftovers with varying degrees of success.   Read full article »