Why is ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ breaking box office records?
Despite this year being a bit of a false start for a return to moviegoing, one film may just be able to save the industry before 2022 rolls around. Spider-Man: No Way Home is the eighth live-action film featuring the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. This film, the third featuring Tom Holland as Spidey, could very well break pandemic-era box-office records.
The past two weekends at theaters yielded the lowest returns since September of this year. However, with Spider-Man: No Way Home getting the much-coveted pre-Christmas release, we could see audiences coming out in droves these next two weekends. The hype is already at a fever pitch, with ninety-five percent of critics approving of the film on Rotten Tomatoes.
Spider-Man has gotten a youthful resurgence since Holland took over the role. In Spider-Man: No Way Home, he’s accompanied by Zendaya portraying MJ & Marisa Tomei as Aunt May. No Way Home also features an appearance by Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Strange. So why is No Way Home predicted to smash the box office? Let’s crunch the numbers to find out.
No way to fail
Marvel has proven to have great returns on investment, even when the material isn’t up to par. For instance, Eternals made over $160 million worldwide in its opening weekend, despite being criticized for its quality. Another Marvel flick that was critically lambasted was Venom: Let There Be Carnage, which had an opening weekend of around $90 million.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage had the biggest opening weekend since Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker came out in 2019. The Rise of Skywalker had the same pre-Christmas release slot that Spider-Man: No Way Home has. Judging by pre-release traffic on sites like IMDb, No Way Home is set to be the highest-grossing release since then.
No Way Home’s current overseas numbers seem to suggest that it’ll be a record-breaking film. So far, the movie’s made $10 million in the U.K. and $9 million in Mexico, the biggest opening for a Sony picture and any film respectively. Based on Spider-Man: Far From Home, No Way Home seems in good standing. Far From Home was the first film since 2019 to gross over $1 billion worldwide.
Many box office aficionados believe that No Way Home could possibly even beat out the highest-earning film of the franchise. In 2007, Spider-Man 3 opened to $151 million, which could easily be matched by No Way Home. This could partly be due to the fact that No Way Home is playing into fans’ nostalgia of the Sam Raimi-directed films.
Enter the Spider-verse
In the pre-release material for Spider-Man: No Way Home, it appears that Dr. Strange casts a spell that accidentally opens the door to other Spider-verses. This seems to allow other Spider-men to exist simultaneously in the same reality, much like in the animated feature Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
This brings back into the fold two actors who previously played Peter Parker. Both Tobey Maguire & Andrew Garfield are listed in the cast for Spider-Man: No Way Home. They aren’t the only ones making a reappearance in the Marvel franchise. Willem Dafoe will reprise his role as the Green Goblin, as will Alfred Molina in the role of Doctor Octopus.
Spider-Man: No Way Home seems to be combining the old with the new in hopes to bring in the widest audience possible. Young fans who’ve become obsessed with Tom Holland will come out in droves. Marvel is banking on the possibility that older viewers will want to see Tobey Maguire in a Spider-Man film once again.
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Spider-Man: No Way Home is on pace to break pandemic-era box office records. Just how high the numbers will go is still up in the air. Who’s your favorite Spider-Man? Let us know in the comments!
