'Spider-Man: Far From Home' Franchise Fatigues To $580 Million Worldwide (Box Office)


'Spider-Man: Far From Home' Franchise Fatigues To $580 Million Worldwide (Box Office)






So much for franchise fatigue. Audiences may not have wanted another mediocre X-Men movie or a half-hearted Men in Black revamp, but they certainly wanted another chapter in the MCU and another Spider-Man movie set within the MCU. Spider-Man: Far From Home, Sony’s $160 million sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming, earned a whopping $185 million in its first six days of domestic release. It also opened in much of the world this week, following an early launch in China ($144 million in eight days), Japan and Hong Kong. All told, the Tom Holland/Zendaya/Jake Gyllenhaal/Samuel L. Jackson action comedy has earned a whopping $580 million worldwide thus far, including $29 million in IMAX alone.
The film’s $93.6 million Fri-Sun frame is essentially tied with Amazing Spider-Man 2’s $92 million Fri-Sun frame in 2014. Far From Home sits between Spider-Man 2 ($88 million in 2004 during a $180 million Wed-Mon launch) and Transformers: Dark of the Moon ($97 million in 2011 during a $165 million Wed-Sun launch) as the second-biggest Independence Day weekend opener ever. If you note inflation, it’s still in  sixth place behind Spider-Man 2 ($128 million adjusted), Transformers 3 ($111 million adjusted), Independence Day ($50 million in 1996/$102 million adjusted), Men in Black ($51 million in 1997/$100 million adjusted) and Despicable Me 2 ($83.5 million in 2013/$96 million adjusted).
This is one of Marvel’s secrets. They aren’t a franchise (or even a cinematic universe) so much as a brand where the characters live in the same world and occasional interact with each other. Yes, the big Avengers cross-over events (and occasional “mythology episodes” like Captain America: Civil War) are “essential viewing,” but the films are mostly stand-alone in terms of their specific franchises. Moreover, the emphasis is always on sympathetic, charismatic and entertaining lead characters, usually the heroes, as opposed to scene-stealing villains, down-the-rabbit-hole mythology and “clues” for the next sequel or the big arc. Thus, audiences can show up and enjoy one of these without having seen all of them.

Sure, it helps to see the big Avengers cross-overs, but everyone sees those anyway. And because Kevin Feige and friends continue to emphasize character over plot, the audiences show up because they like these specific cinematic incarnations of these specific superheroes. It’s that specificity, rather than a cinematic universe or a superhero movie or even a well-known character as an abstract concept or selling point, that makes this brand stand apart. Audiences will show up in theaters if they want to see the characters in question on a big-screen adventure. That’s what gives superhero movies, and especially the MCU, such a grand advantage in modern tentpole cinema.





So, yes, everyone wanted to see a big-budget and crowd-pleasing Spider-Man movie, specifically one that acted as a sequel to Avengers: Endgame (which earned $4.4 million worldwide over the weekend for a $2.7725 billion worldwide cume) and an epilogue to Marvel’s “Infinity Saga.” For Far From Home, which (commercially speaking) is “just another Spider-Man movie” to perform this well, sans Iron Man no less, is a testament to the character’s enduring popularity, the value of the MCU as a brand and Sony’s current winning streak when it comes to Spidey flicks. Since 2017, Sony is now 4/4 in terms of delivering crowd-pleasing and financially lucrative Spider-Verse flicks.
Far From Home follows Spider-Man: Homecoming (good reviews and $881 million worldwide), Venom (mixed-negative reviews but $854 million worldwide) and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (rave reviews, $390 million worldwide, and a well-deserved Oscar). Whether the "Egad, worst movie ever!" online ramblings concerning Spider-Man 3 (which earned $890 million in 2007, the biggest Spidey flick ever) represent general moviegoer consensus, the brand was viewed as damaged goods after Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 4 fell apart. Both Amazing Spider-Man flicks topped $700 million, but they cost way too much ($230 million and $255 million) and found themselves looking like yesterday's news as they chased current superhero trends. Not today.
At a glance, a multiplier like The Amazing Spider-Man ($264 million from a Tues-Sun debut of $137 million in 2012) or the first live-action Transformers ($319 million from a $155.4 million Tues-Sun launch in 2007) will result in Far From Home grossing between $356 million and $380 million domestic. So, no, a $400 million-plus cume isn’t guaranteed, but that was never the bar for success. And yes, it doesn’t help me that there aren’t that many high-profile Tuesday openers.  Ali, Django Unchained and Les Misérables opened on Christmas Day, and The Omen frontloaded after a June 6, 2006 Tuesday launch. Thus, the comparison pool is pretty shallow.
Unless it is exceptionally frontloaded and/or audiences end up liking it less than critics, we’re probably looking at a total gross at least above Spider-Man 3 ($890 million in 2007, sans 3-D and certainly sans today’s overseas marketplace advantages) and probably over $1 billion. If that happens, then the MCU will have three $1 billion-plus grossers in a single year. If Spider-Man; Far From Home tops $1.1 billion, it’ll join Captain Marvel ($1.128 billion) and Avengers: Endgame (around $2.775 billion) in giving Marvel $5 billion in global grosses in a single year. Marvel Cinematic Universe has become everyone's one-stop-shopping destination for larger-than-life blockbuster fantasy thrills.

nice to here that spider man is return to mcu

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