The strong results for Sony’s superhero sequel – last weekend it surpassed the US$1 billion mark globally – have breathed welcome life into the movie industry as it battles to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. British actor Tom Holland stars as the Marvel webslinger.

With families starting to return to theatres, “Sing 2,” Universal’s animated musical sequel, took in a respectable US$19.6 million, again placing second for the Friday-through-Sunday period.

Its huge voice cast includes Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson and U2 frontman Bono.

But there was a considerable drop-off after that, with the third top-earning film, 20th Century’s “The King’s Man,” taking in just US$4.5 million.

A prequel to the “Kingsman” spy films, it stars Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton, Rhys Ifans and Matthew Goode.

In fourth spot, “American Underdog” grossed US$4.1 million. The Lionsgate film stars Zachary Levi in the true story of Kurt Warner, who went from stocking grocery store shelves to being a National Football League MVP.

And in fifth was sci-fi prequel “The Matrix: Resurrections,” from Warner Bros., at US$3.8 million. Variety called its performance “disastrous,” given the film’s US$190 million production budget.

Rounding out the top 10 were:

• “West Side Story” (US$2.1 million)
• “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” (US$1.4 million)
• “Licorice Pizza” (US$1.25 million)
• “A Journal for Jordan” (US$1.2 million)
• “Encanto” (US$1.1 million)