Disney/Marvel’s “Eternals” didn’t break any opening weekend record for Marvel franchise movie -- but it still posted what amounted to a top five theatrical opening weekend for 2021, a year still feeling the effects of pandemic-disruption.

Its $71 million in U.S. box-office revenues, according to Comscore -- tops for the most recent weekend -- added to its $90.7 million from international box-office revenue, totaling $161.7 million.

For its entire national TV advertising campaign -- which ramped up in earnest starting on October 3 -- $17.3 million was spent, according to iSpot.Tv. The bulk of the advertising -- in terms of resulting impressions -- went to NFL Football (141.7 million) and Major League Baseball (72.4 million).

Now, in its third week, Warner Bros’ “Dune” pulled in $7.6 million -- second to “Eternals.” MGM’s “No Time to Die” was at $6.2 million; Sony’s “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” $4.5 million; 20th Century Studios’ “Ron’s Gone Wrong,”,\ $3.6 million; and Searchlight Pictures’ “The French Dispatch” at $2.6 million.

The best debut after “Eternals” was Neon’s “Spencer” at $2.1 million.

The top movie so far this year: Disney’s “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” at $223.7 million in U.S. bo- office revenues, according to IMdb’s Box Office Mojo. Sony’s “Venom” is at $197 million; Disney’s “Black Widow” at $183.7 million; and Universal Pictures’ “F9: The Fast Saga,” $70 million.

Biggest studio spender through 10 months of this year, according to iSpot.tv, is Warner Bros., $140.4 million. Then comes Universal Pictures, $85.4 million; Marvel, $45.92 million; 20h Century Studios’ $45.89 million; MGM’s $42.9 million; Columbia Pictures’ $35.4 million; and Walt Disney Pictures’ $32.1 million.

Total theatrical movie spending -- which also promotes home-based premium streaming platforms where movies have run concurrently with theatrical releases -- totaled $585.7 million from January 1 through November 6. This is up 75% versus the same period in 2020 ($335.3 million), much of which also endured pandemic-related theater closures.

At the same time, this is down 49% from the pre-pandemic 2019, where national TV spend was $1.15 billion, season-to-date.
Top weekend performers this year ahead of “Eternals” was “Venom” ($90 million); “Shang-Chi” ($75.4 million); “Black Widow” ($80.4 million) and “F9” ($70 million).