'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse' Debuts at Top of U.S. Box Office

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse has already proved to be a surprise hit for Sony and Marvel, garnering overwhelmingly positive reviews. The Miles Morales-starring animated film, which has some very unique animation technology behind it, has made a huge impact at the box office during its first weekend.

As Entertainment Weekly reports, the animated superhero film hit the No. 1 spot at the box office in both Canada and the U.S., bringing in a respectable $35.4 million in tickets across 3,813 theaters. The movie managed to knock Ralph Breaks the Internet off the top spot, which it held onto for three weeks straight while also scoring the best opening ever for an animated movie debuting in December.

Into the Spider-Verse was produced on a budget of $90 million, with a predicted opening weekend gross of around $30 million to $40 million. The film represents another take on the Spider-Man mythos, with Sony taking their own approach to the character and spinning off something completely different from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Recently, rumors surfaced indicating that Sony were thinking of ending their partnership with Marvel Studios in allowing them to utilize the Tom Holland-incarnation of Spider-Man in their own films, however, Sony's Amy Pascal quickly shut those rumors down. "I think about crying," she said when asked about the Sony-Marvel contract ending. "I can only hope for a future where things work out."