NEW YORK (AP) — Kevin Conroy, the prolific voice actor whose gravelly delivery on “Batman: The Animated Series" was — for many Batman fans — the definite sound of the Caped Crusader, has died at 66.

Conroy died Thursday after a battle with cancer, series producer Warner Bros. announced Friday.

Conroy was the voice of Batman on the acclaimed animated series that ran from 1992-1996, often acting opposite Mark Hamill's Joker. Conroy continued on as the almost exclusive animated voice of Batman, including some 15 films, 400 episodes of television and two dozen videogames, including the “Batman: Arkham” and “Injustice” franchises.

In the eight-decade history of Batman, no one played the Dark Knight more.

“For several generations, he has been the definitive Batman,” Hamill in a statement. “It was one of those perfect scenarios where they got the exact right guy for the right part, and the world was better for it."

“He will always be my Batman,” Hamill said.

Conroy's popularity with fans made him a sought-after personality on the comic-con circuit. In the often tumultuous world of DC Comics, Conroy was a mainstay and widely beloved. In a statement, Warner Bros. Animation said Conroy's performance “will forever stand among the greatest portrayals of the Dark Knight in any medium.”

“Kevin brought a light with him everywhere, whether in the recording booth giving it his all or feeding first-responders during 9/11 or making sure every fan who ever waited for him had a moment with their Batman," said Paul Dini, producer of the animated show. ”A hero in every sense of the word."

Born in in Westbury, New York, and raised in Westport, Connecticut, Conroy started out as well-trained theater actor. He attended Julliard and roomed with Robin Williams. After graduating, he toured with John Houseman's acting group, the Acting Company. He performed in “A Midsummer Night's Dream” at the Public Theater and in “Eastern Standard" on Broadway. At the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, California, he performed in “Hamlet.”

The 1980s production of “Eastern Standard," in which Conroy played a TV producer secretly living with AIDS, had particular meaning to him. Conroy, who was gay, said at the time he was regularly attending funerals for friends who died of AIDS. He poured out his anguish nightly on stage.

In 1980, Conroy moved to Los Angeles, began acting in soap operas and booked appearances on TV series including “Cheers," “Tour of Duty” and “Murphy Brown.” In 1991, when casting director Andrea Romano was scouting her lead actor for “Batman: The Animated Series,” she went through hundreds of auditions before Conroy came in. He was there on a friend's recommendation — and cast immediately.

Conroy began the role without any background in comics and as a novice in voice acting. His Batman was husky, brooding and dark. His Bruce Wayne was light and dashing. His inspiration for the contrasting voices, he said, came from the 1930s film, “The Scarlet Pimpernel,” about an English aristocrat who leads a double life.

“It’s so much fun as an actor to sink your teeth into,” Conroy told The New York Times in 2016. “Calling it animation doesn’t do it justice. It’s more like mythology.”

As Conroy's performance evolved over the years, it sometimes connected to his own life. Conroy described his own father as an alcoholic and said his family disintegrated while he was in high school. He channeled those emotions into the 1993 animated film “Mask of the Phantasm,” which revolved around Bruce Wayne's unsettled issues with his parents.

“Andrea came in after the recording and grabbed me in a hug,” Conroy told The Hollywood Reporter in 2018. “Andrea said, ‘I don’t know where you went, but it was a beautiful performance.’ She knew I was drawing on something.”

Conroy is survived by his husband, Vaughn C. Williams, sister Trisha Conroy and brother Tom Conroy.

In “Finding Batman,” released earlier this year, Conroy penned a comic about his unlikely journey with the character and as a gay man in Hollywood.

“I've often marveled as how appropriate it was that I should land this role,” he wrote. “As a gay boy growing up in the 1950s and ‘60s in a devoutly Catholic family, I’d grown adept at concealing parts of myself.”

The voice that emerged from Conroy for Batman, he said, was one he didn't recognize — a voice that “seemed to roar from 30 years of frustration, confusion, denial, love, yearning."

“I felt Batman rising from deep within."

Phase five of the Marvel Cinematic Universe may have gotten off to a rocky start, but Ant-Man is bigger than ever at the box office.

"Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" opened with $104 million in domestic ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday, easily surpassing the box-office debuts of the previous two Ant-Man films. The Walt Disney Co.'s "Quantumania" added another $121.3 million overseas to give the pint-sized hero a $225 million global launch.

It's easily the largest opening of the year so far. And "Quantumania" did so despite an atypically poor reception for the 31st MCU film. "Quantumania," starring Paul Rudd as Ant-Man, Evangeline Lilly as the Wasp and Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror, sits at 48% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, making it the only MCU film to rank as rotten beside "Eternals" (47%).

Audiences also weren't thrilled with "Quantumania," giving it a "B" CinemaScore. "Eternals" is the only other MCU film to receive a CinemaScore that low.

Those scores will pose the biggest concern for Marvel as it continues to unroll phase five of the MCU, following mixed reviews for the post-"Avengers: Endgame" phase four of the comic-book franchise. Up next is "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" in May.

But good reviews or not, theaters hope "Quantumania" — the first blockbuster of the year — is a sign of things to come. After the turmoil of the past three years, there are some 30 more wide releases planned for 2023.

"It will feel almost in the coming weeks like a pre-pandemic moviegoing environment in terms of the marketplace," said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for data firm Comscore. "That's very good news coming off a very tumultuous past two, three years. This is the start of a big many months for this industry. We've sort of been in the waiting room with holdovers like 'Avatar' and others."

The first "Ant-Man" launched with $57.2 million domestically in 2015, the smallest opening for any movie in the MCU. It ultimately earned $519.3 million worldwide. Its sequel, "Ant-Man and the Wasp," debuted three years later with $75.8 million and went to collect $622.7 million globally.

China was vital for both of those releases, with each topping $100 million there. But in recent years, particularly during the pandemic, fewer American movies have secured major releases in the heavily regulated Chinese market. Not since "Avengers: Endgame" in 2019 has a Disney release opened simultaneously in the U.S. and China.

Whether China will ever go back to those pre-pandemic numbers for U.S. movies, however, remains to be seen — especially as tensions continue to fester over the Chinese balloon surveillance program. "Quantumania" took in $19 million over the weekend in China.

In its 10th weekend of release, James Cameron's "Avatar: The Way of Water" remained in second place with $6.4 million. With $2.243 billion globally, Cameron's sci-fi sequel has now just surpassed Cameron's own "Titanic" — currently back in theaters for its 25th anniversary — as the third-highest grossing film ever. Now, only the 2009 "Avatar" and "Avengers: Endgame" rank above "The Way of Water."

Last week's top film, "Magic Mike's Last Dance" slid to third place with $5.5 million. The Channing Tatum sequel has collected $18.1 million in two weeks.

Landing in fourth was Universal's "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish," which has enjoyed an unusually long run in theaters as the top family option since late December. With $5.3 million over the weekend, it has totaled $167 million domestically and more than $400 million worldwide.

Only one new film went into wide release against "Quantumania." Open Road and Briarcliff Entertainment debuted "Marlowe," with Liam Neeson playing Raymond Chandler's classic private eye, in 2,281 locations. "Marlowe," though, only mustered $1.9 million.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania," $104 million.

2. "Avatar: The Way of Water," $6.1 million.

3. "Magic Mike's Last Dance," $5.5 million.

4. "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish," $5.3 million.

5. "Knock at the Cabin," $3.9 million.

6. "80 for Brady," $3.6 million.

7. "Titanic," $2.3 million.

8. "Marlowe," $1.9 million.

9. "Missing," $1.7 million.

10. "A Man Called Otto," $1.6 million.

Peter Parker’s good fortune continued over the holiday weekend as Hollywood prepares to close the books on a turbulent 2021. Even with some mighty competition from new Matrix and Sing movies, and rising concerns over the omicron variant, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” stayed in the No. 1 spot and netted a few more milestones too including crossing the $1 billion mark globally.

According to studio estimates Sunday, “Spider-Man” added $81.5 million over the three-day weekend, down 69% from its first weekend. The Sony and Marvel film has now grossed $467 million from North American theaters, more than doubling the domestic grosses of 2021′s previous No. 1 film, “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.”

With $587.1 million from 61 overseas markets, in just 12 days of release, “Spider-Man" has grossed $1.05 billion globally. It's the first film of the pandemic to cross $1 billion and is tied with “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” for being the third-fastest film ever to do so — and this without the benefit of its release in China.

Universal’s “Sing 2” came in second place with an estimated $23.8 million, while Warner Bros.' “The Matrix Resurrections” grossed $12 million to take third place.

The animated musical “Sing 2” features high-profile celebrity talent including Matthew McConaughey, Scarlett Johansson, Reese Witherspoon and Bono, as well as a jukebox soundtrack full of well-known hits. Since its release Wednesday, it’s made $41 million ($1.6 million of that came from Thanksgiving weekend showings) from North America and $65 million worldwide.

“We’re extraordinarily pleased,” said Jim Orr, Universal's president of domestic distribution.

Orr said the stellar CinemaScore (A+) and audience scores suggest that the film will continue to perform well in the next few weeks, when many kids are still out of school for the holidays.

The fourth Matrix also opened on Wednesday and has earned an estimated $22.5 million in its first five days in North America. The film, directed by Lana Wachowski and starring Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss, is currently streaming on HBO Max as well. Globally, it’s grossed $69.8 million to date.

While the studio was hoping for a stronger box office, Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros.' head of domestic distribution, said the movie achieved what they were looking for as an overall strategy including HBO Max.

“The Matrix Resurrections" is the last of the 18 Warner Bros. films released in 2021 to debut both in theaters and on HBO Max simultaneously. Starting in 2022, the studio will have a 45-day exclusive theatrical window on their films.

In fourth place was Disney and 20th Century’s “The King’s Man,” a prequel to the action-comedy Kingsman series starring Ralph Fiennes. It came in slightly under expectations with $6.4 million from the weekend and $10 million from its first five days. The audience skewed heavily male (65%).

The Kurt Warner biopic “American Underdog” opened on Christmas Day and has made an estimated $6.2 million in its two days in release to round out the top five. Zachary Levi stars as Warner, the quarterback who went from undrafted free agent to Hall of Famer.

Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Licorice Pizza” expanded nationwide on Christmas, after playing in limited release for a month, and added $2.3 million bringing its total to $3.7 million. And right behind it was the Denzel Washington-directed drama “A Journal For Jordan,” which to $2.2 million.

With just a few days left in 2021, the North American box office is currently sitting at $4.3 billion and is likely to net out around $4.4 billion. Pre-pandemic, it was normal for a year's box office to surpass $11 billion.

“To say was a roller-coaster year is an understatement,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore, Inc. “The marketplace is still facing challenges from the pandemic, but what an amazing capper to one of the most incredible years ever at the box office."

He added: “The future of the movie theater a year ago was a big question mark, and a year later it’s here to stay.”

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” $81.5 million.

2. “Sing 2,” $23.8 million.

3. “The Matrix Resurrections,” $12 million.

4. “The King’s Man,” $6.4 million.

5. “American Underdog,” $6.2 million.

6. “West Side Story,” $2.8 million.

7. “Licorice Pizza,” $2.3 million.

8. “A Journal For Jordan,” $2.2 million.

9. “Encanto,” $2 million.

10. “83,” $1.8 million.

Never underestimate your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, even with a mutating virus afoot.

Despite rising concerns over the omicron variant, "Spider-Man: No Way Home" not only shattered pandemic-era box office records; it became the third-best opening of all time behind "Avengers: Endgame" ($357.1 million) and "Avengers: Infinity War" ($257.7 million).

The Sony and Marvel blockbuster grossed a stunning $253 million in ticket sales from 4,325 North American locations, according to studio estimates on Sunday, also setting a record for the month of December.

The web-slinger's success couldn't have come sooner for a movie business that has had a roller coaster 2021 and could be headed for a difficult start to 2022 as the omicron variant of the coronavirus forces more and more event cancellations.

In its five days playing in theaters internationally, it's amassed $334.2 million in ticket sales, bringing its global total to $587.2 million against a $200 million production budget.

The film has yet to open in markets like Thailand and Japan, and there is no release date set for China.

As the third standalone Spider-Man film in the Tom Holland era, "No Way Home" was always going to be an "event film" for fans.

After several delays over the year, Sony planted its launch in the pre-Christmas frame and as of late last week had anticipated a pandemic-best opening in the $130 million to $150 million range.

But it quickly became clear that "Spider-Man" was going to fly much higher. The film netted an incredible $121.5 million in its first day — bumping "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" out of the No. 2 position.

And it's not just fans who have been giving the film good marks: Reviews have been overwhelmingly positive as well.

It has a 94% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

"Spider-Man" could also help the industry at large as it heads into 2022.

Dave Briggs and Alex Livingston from Newsy along with the Associated Press contributed to this story.

CNN —

Theaters needed a hero, and Spider-Man swung in just in time.

"Spider-Man: No Way Home" — the latest movie in the Marvel series — notched a record-breaking opening weekend at the domestic box office by bringing in $253 million, according to its studio, Sony.

That is the third-highest opening weekend in box office history and also the highest opening weekend for the month of December. The film blew past its original projections by $123 million. Only 2019's "Avengers: Endgame" and 2018's "Avengers: Infinity War" opened to larger numbers.

In terms of recent box office returns, it took only one day for the film to become the highest-grossing opening of any movie during the pandemic. Also, it took only one weekend for "No Way Home" to become the highest grossing film of 2021.

"Movie theaters have been looking for a hero and Spider-Man swung in and saved the day," Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, told CNN Business.

Dergarabedian called the opening "astonishing" and said it "gives an industry hard hit by the effects of the pandemic both a spiritual and box-office boost that could carry forward into the new year."

"As arguably the most important weekend in box-office history, the implications of 'Spider-Man: No Way Home's' performance cannot be overstated in terms of its ability to change a narrative," he added. "It reaffirms the movie theater's place as one of the most viable, relevant, and beloved entertainment institutions."

The film — stars Tom Holland and Zendaya as Peter Parker and MJ as they battle villains from across the Marvel multiverse — brought in a higher opening weekend than some of the most successful blockbusters of all time. That includes "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," "The Avengers" and "Black Panther."

While other box office records have fallen in the past, this weekend for "No Way Home" is particularly impressive.

Theaters desperately needed some good news, as rising COVID-19 cases threaten to keep would-be moviegoers at home and streaming became a more dominant way for viewers to watch big movies from the comfort of their couch.

"No Way Home" — which is exclusive to theaters for the time being — was able to bring in record box office returns even as the omicron variant caused Broadway shows to cancel in New York City and forced "Saturday Night Live" to pull its live audience.