Netflix Set Sony’s ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ Up for a Long Box Office Run
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” is well on its way to becoming the biggest box office hit ever for Sony Pictures Animation, and while the usual factors for a hit film like strong audience buzz and a smart release date are major reasons why, the years of play that its predecessor “Into the Spider-Verse” had on Netflix was a major factor as well.
“Having an in-house streaming service has plenty of its own opportunities for profit, but as we’ve seen over the last few years, it also has its own challenges,” Comscore analyst Paul Dergarabedian said. “Sony has shown that partnering with an established streamer instead can be a viable strategy as well, allowing the studio to find an alternate way to take advantage of the big-to-small screen synergy.”
Box office history shows that every once in a while, a film that develops a fan base over the course of months or even years in theaters and on home platforms can lead to a breakout sequel. In the ’90s, hits like “Austin Powers” had low initial awareness upon release but kept building audience buzz through their theatrical runs. That rolled into their release on home video and set the stage for a massive theatrical bump for their sequels.
The result? While “Austin Powers” had a $67 million global box office run in 1997, its sequel “The Spy Who Shagged Me” exploded to $312 million.
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Even as physical media gave way to streaming in the 2010s, the same trend could be seen with films like “Pitch Perfect,” which was a respectable theatrical hit in 2012 with $65 million domestic and $115 million worldwide. But after a full theatrical run and even more buzz from years on streaming, the film became so popular that “Pitch Perfect 2” opened to $69 million, more than its predecessor’s entire domestic total.
So it has been for Sony’s pair of animated “Spider-Man” films, as “Across the Spider-Verse” is enjoying buzz from the fan base that “Into the Spider-Verse” slowly built over the past four years on streaming, most of which came on Netflix.
When “Into the Spider-Verse” was first released, it had relatively muted awareness for a “Spider-Man” film as it was stuck in the shadow of Tom Holland’s MCU iteration of the character which had appeared in films like “Spider-Man: Homecoming” and “Avengers: Infinity War” to great praise from fans.
By comparison, an animated film featuring Miles Morales, a new Spidey introduced in the comics just seven years prior, didn’t immediately have that can’t-miss feel among anyone outside of the most hardcore Marvel fans, and the film earned a modest $35 million opening weekend. But its critical acclaim and excellent positioning more than a week ahead of the Christmas season allowed “Into the Spider-Verse” to find footing in a crowded box office that included direct competition from films like “Aquaman” and “Bumblebee.”
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After posting strong holds through the holidays and into late January, “Into the Spider-Verse” finished with a domestic total of $190.2 million, giving it an excellent multiple of 5.38. But that was only the beginning.
In March 2019, “Into the Spider-Verse” won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, becoming only the second non-Disney/Pixar production in 12 years to win in that category. Just over two months later, the film made its debut on Netflix, allowing it to continue finding new fans among audiences who might have missed its run in theaters.
So when “Across the Spider-Verse” hit theaters this past weekend, it was on the radar of far more moviegoers than its predecessor upon its initial theatrical release, and that momentum got even bigger when rave reviews came in from both critics and opening night audiences.
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“Across the Spider-Verse” earned a $120.6 million domestic opening this past weekend, more than triple that of “Into the Spider-Verse.” It’s also more than double the $48.4 million opening of the first “Hotel Transylvania,” which set the previous opening record for Sony Animation.
And that might be just the beginning for this sequel. On Monday, “Across the Spider-Verse” earned a jaw-dropping $13 million in the U.S., higher than the $8.9 million earned by “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” on its first Monday and the $12.7 million earned by “Jurassic World: Dominion” a year ago. That was followed by an additional $15 million on Tuesday to give the film $148 million after its first five days in the U.S. and Canada.
The success of “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” is combining the pattern of slow-burn hit franchises with the enduring popularity of Marvel’s webslinger to reach new heights. The sequel’s success is not only a testament to the visual and narrative craft of Sony Animation but also to the studio’s handling of the series, using streaming to build Miles Morales’ popularity alongside that of Tom Holland’s Peter Parker.
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