Spider-Man: No Way Home brought home a billion dollars during Covid. How?
Tom Holland and Zendaya's Spider-Man: No Way Home has set a pandemic record. The Marvel-Sony co-production has grossed US $1.05 billion at the global box office since its release. Spider-Man: No Way Home has also become the highest grossing movie of 2021. The movie was able to achieve this even before premiering in China, which is known to be the world's biggest cinema market. The last film to reach US $1 billion in worldwide ticket sales was Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in 2019. And as we all know, that was before the pandemic upended our lives, and the box office.
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Spider-Man: No Way Home has been victorious despite rising fear of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 and was able to set the record two weeks after release in multiplexes. The superhero movie has been able to net US $467.3 million from North American theaters and US $587.1 million more from international markets, said Sony Pictures Entertainment. Spider-Man: No Way Home beat out The Battle of Lake Changjin, a Chinese film released in November 2021 that had garnered US $905 million worldwide, for this coveted spot.
No Way Home is the third chapter in the cycle of Spider-Man films starring Tom Holland and Zendaya. The latest installment features a supporting turn from Benedict Cumberbatch as the Marvel sorcerer Doctor Strange. Here is the trailer of the movie:
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Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at American media measurement and analytics company, Comscore said, "Spider-Man: No Way Home’s sprint to $1 billion within the context of this still pandemically-challenged marketplace is nothing short of astonishing. It demonstrates the power of a great movie to draw fans around the world to enjoy the shared and communal experience that only the movie theatre can provide."
HOW DID SPIDER-MAN EARN A BILLION DOLLARS?
Other than the multiple cameos and MCU's ongoing multiverse, a huge reason why viewers are flocking to see Spider-Man: No Way Home is to avoid spoilers from friends and family. And because of how dynamic and visually loaded the film is, fans are returning to the theatres for repeat viewings.
David A Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research, said, "Right now, if you’re under 35 and going to the movies, your first choice is Spider-Man, and your second choice is seeing Spider-Man again. You can watch The Matrix later with someone who has HBO. That’s how it is when a single movie is dominating the market the way Spider-Man is."
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No Way Home has confirmed a truth that has been evident since the onset of Covid-19: 'Multiplexes have been and will continue to be more reliant than ever on superhero spectacles.' The movie has also been able to do better than its counterparts such as Sing 2, The Matrix Resurrections and West Side Story because Spider-Man has appeared in eight standalone, live-action films in the past 19 years and has a strong cinematic history.
Before Holland, Spider-Man has been potrayed by Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield. With eight live action films, multiple animated shows and one animated film, Spider-Man finds himself in the popularity league of Batman, Superman and the X-Men. Due to his massive popularity, the character already has a strong fanbase across the world. Director Jon Watts was able to maximise on this fanbase when he brought in much loved villains: Willem Dafoe as the Green Goblin, Alfred Molina as Dr Otto Octavius and Jamie Foxx as Electro into No Way Home.