Spider-Man: Homecoming is an official smash, bringing in $117 million at the box office over its first weekend of release. It's the third-biggest opening of the year, trailing only Beauty and the Beast ($178 million) and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. ($146 million), a triumphant return to the silver screen for the Webslinger.

Audiences had begun to lose interest in Peter Parker not long ago, following the two moderately successful but ultimately disappointing Amazing Spider-Man movies starring Andrew Garfield in 2012 and 2014. But his reintroduction as played by Tom Holland in Captain America: Civil War was one of that blockbuster's (many) highlights:

Among Spider-flicks, Homecoming's $117 million take notches it behind only Spider-Man 3, the final entry in the Tobey Maguire / Sam Raimi series that helped kick off the comic-book-movie craze that's still going strong today. That film took in $151 million when it opened and went on to a $336 million total.

If Homecoming has decent legs at the box office -- and it should, judging by its overwhelmingly positive critical reception (93 percent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and audience reaction (an A on CinemaScore) -- it will eventually surpass Spider-Man 3's tally and challenge the original Spider-Man's $403 million mark, tops for all Spider-Man films.

These numbers prove the Marvel Cinematic Universe now has a new superstar, with Spidey joining Iron Man, Captain America and the Guardians of the Galaxy at the top of the superhero heap. This is good news for audiences, who'll get to see Tom Holland as the Webhead in at least four more movies over the next few years: the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers 4 (2019), plus two more solo outings after that.

It's also good news for Sony, which partnered with Marvel for Homecoming. Sony managed distribution and marketing, while Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios handled the creative side. Sony has already begun prepping its own superhero universe, with an upcoming Venom movie starring Tom Hardy in the works.

Venom is one of Spider-Man's most formidable (and popular) villains, though Sony has described the movie as a standalone story, unrelated to Homecoming. But come on: if you're going to tell a Venom story, Peter Parker has to be involved -- especially now that Homecoming is such a massive hit. Guess we'll have to wait and see on that, but our money's on Tom Holland playing a major role there.

You can read the ScreenCrush review of Spider-Man: Homecoming here, or just go buy a ticket and see it in theaters, in case you're the one person who hasn't already.

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