‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ swings to sky-high $120.5 million opening

Look out, here comes “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.”

The highly anticipated sequel to Sony‘s “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” swung to the top of the domestic box office this weekend, launching to a massive $120.5 million, according to studio estimates.

The animated comic-book adaptation far exceeded early box office projections in the $80 million range. The superhero movie’s sleeper-hit of a predecessor debuted at $35.4 million in 2018.

Internationally, “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” opened to $88.1 million for a global cumulative of $208.6 million — a record-high number for Sony Animation.

Rounding out the top three at the domestic box office this weekend were Disney’s live-action remake of “The Little Mermaid,” which added $40.6 million in its sophomore outing for a North American total of $186.2 million; and 20th Century Studios’ “The Boogeyman,” which bowed at $12.3 million.

Directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers and Justin K. Thompson, “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” reunites Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) and Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld) for another epic journey through the multiverse. Supporting cast members include Issa Rae, Brian Tyree Henry, Luna Lauren Vélez, Jake Johnson, Jason Schwartzman, Karan Soni, Daniel Kaluuya and Oscar Isaac.

The follow-up to “Into the Spider-Verse” — which dazzled critics and won the Academy Award for animated feature in 2019 — appears to have done it again, scoring a fantastic 95% fresh rating on review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes. The blockbuster has yet to receive a grade from audiences polled by CinemaScore.

“‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ … contains every element of what made the first one so compelling,” writes film critic Katie Walsh for the Tribune News Service.

“A breathlessly beautiful achievement not just in animation but also comic book movie storytelling, ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ is willing to shred the lore from top to bottom and weave it back together again in new, surprising and wildly entertaining ways. It’s simply spectacular.”

Paramount Pictures’ “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” opens in wide release next weekend.