The only tentpole to have earned more over Independence Day weekend was Transformers: Dark of the Moon in 2011 ($97.9 million), not adjusted for inflation. Far From Home did, however, top Spider-Man 2 to boast the biggest six-day July Fourth debut of all time. It also is Sony's best six-day opening ever.

Overseas, the pic earned another $238 million for a foreign total of $395 million (it opened early in China, Japan and Hong Kong). China added $30.6 million for a total there of $167.4 million. Among new markets, South Korea led with a strong $33.8 million, followed by the U.K. with $17.8 million, Mexico with $13.9 million and Australia with $11.9 million. Overall, the film is pacing 46 percent of Spider Man: Homecoming.

Far From Home's better-than-expected performance is welcome news for the struggling box office, where a number of summer franchises' installments have lagged.

That wasn't the case for Far From Home. The superhero pic came in well ahead of the $117 million, three-day bow of its immediate predecessor, 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming. Both that film and Far From Home were made by Sony in partnership with the Disney-owned Marvel.

Far From Home picks up after the events of Marvel and Disney's blockbuster Avengers: Endgame, as Tom Holland's Peter Parker (aka Spider-Man) and Samuel Jackson's Nick Fury adjust to a world without Iron Man and other key Avengers to defend it. It also is the last chapter in Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

In addition to Endgame, Far From Home was buoyed by glowing reviews and exit scores, as well as an A CinemaScore. Males made up 57 percent of ticket buyers, while 31 percent of the audience was between the ages 18 and 24, according to PostTrak. The film also is playing in a record number of theaters for the month of July.

Holding steady at No. 2 was Disney and Pixar's Toy Story 4, now in its third outing. The tentpole grossed a stellar $34.3 million for the weekend as it sailed past the $300 million mark domestically to clear $650 million in worldwide ticket sales.

Universal and Working Title's Yesterday came in third with a weekend tally of $10.8 million, a narrow 37 percent decline from its opening. The song-filled romantic comedy's 10-day domestic cume is $36.9 million, while its global total stands at $57 million.

Annabelle Comes Home came in fourth with a sophomore weekend gross of $9.8 million. The supernatural horror film has earned $50.2 million domestically to date for a worldwide total of $134.8 million.

Disney's Aladdin — which crossed the $900 million mark at the global box office Friday — rounded out the top five all the way in its seventh weekend with $7.6 million-plus.The live-action tentpole is another major win for the Disney empire, and finished Sunday with a global cume of $921.7 million.

The holiday's other new nationwide offering, A24's Midsommar, likewise came in ahead of expectations. Directed by Ari Aster of Hereditary fame, the horror pic scored a five-day debut of $10.9 million from 2,707 cinemas. A24 says it's the best bow of the year for an indie film if counting the full five days and not just the weekend.

Midsommar follows a group of Americans who travel to Sweden to take part in a solstice festival. Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor and Will Poulter star.

Among other specialty titles, CBS Films' documentary Pavarotti cleared the $3 million mark domestically.