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Sony and Marvel

'Spider-Man: Homecoming'

Spider-Man: Homecoming earned $2.787 million yesterday in its 20th day of domestic
release. That's a normal 33% drop from Tuesday and a 43% drop from last Wednesday.
That's not the news. The news, for what it's worth, is that Spider-Man: Homecoming
has now earned $262.131m in North America. That means, in raw numbers, that Marvel
and Sony's second Peter Parker reboot has now earned more domestically than the
first Peter Parker reboot. So, not adjusted for inflation, Spider-Man: Homecoming
has out-grossed The Amazing Spider-Man ($262m in 2012) and thus become the biggest-
grossing Peter Parker movie in ten years.

Now, adjusted for inflation, it still has a way to go, as the $262 million domestic
total for the Andrew Garfield/Emma Stone melodrama would be around $297m today. It
has a shot at crossing that arbitrary milestone, but it will depend on holding onto
screens and getting kids into the theaters on weekend afternoons over the next
month. At this point, $300m+ is a coin toss. But, for the record, the Tom
Holland/Robert Downey Jr./Michael Keaton/Zendaya caper cost just $175m to produce,
which is less than the $235-$255m budgets for the two Amazing Spider-Man movies.

And even if it falls short of the $300 million+ milestone, its still a relative
winner. First, critics and audiences seemed to have enjoyed it, so the next
installment may get a bump. Furthermore, that next installment will arrive just
months after the series finale Avengers movie in May of 2019 that will be the end
of the first three MCU phases and the beginning of whatever comes next. So, in that
sense, Spider-Man: Homecoming 2 (or whatever its called) will either be the season
premiere of Phase Four or the epilogue of Phase 3.

Just as Iron Man 3 and the rest of the Phase Two stand-alone sequels got a bump
from The Avengers, so too might the next Spider-Man movie get a bump from Avengers:
Infinity War and Avengers: That Which Must Not Be Titled. Even if the second one
doesnt take a huge jump, satisfied customers for this go-around should stem the
bleeding that was caused by two relatively dissatisfactory Amazing Spider-Man
movies. Im not sure how the Sony spin-off movies (Venom, Silver and Black, etc.)
will factor into this, but thats a post for another day.

If Spider-Man: Homecoming passes $292 million, itll top Man of Steel ($291m in
2013) as the biggest domestic grosser for a straight reboot, although a $309m total
would put it over the top in terms of inflation. And if it passes the $757m
worldwide gross of The Amazing Spider-Man, itll be the biggest global grosser for
a straight reboot. And no, Im not counting Deadpool as a reboot. Both Deadpool and
X-Men Origins: Wolverine star Ryan Reynolds as the title character. If Casino
Royale had starred Pierce Brosnan, that wouldnt have been a reboot either.

As I said before, that Patty Jenkins Wonder Woman overperformed in North America
did not put additional pressure on Jon Watts Spider-Man: Homecoming. Nor, for that
matter, did the inclusion of Iron Man and Spideys existence in the MCU create an
expectation that the film would flirt with Sam Raimi-level numbers. If were
strictly treating Spider-Man 3.0 as an MCU movie, then we should note that it has
already out-grossed every MCU movie that isnt an Avengers team-up (yes, Im
counting Civil War), Iron Man 3 or a Guardians of the Galaxy movie.

So yeah, in terms of unadjusted domestic grosses, it has out-grossed the first two
Captain America movies, the first two Thor films, Doctor Strange, Ant-Man and The
Incredible Hulk. And if it can leg it to $318 million (possible but not probable),
itll pass the first two Iron Man movies as well. But thats an if/when question.
So yeah, I would argue that Spider-Man: Homecoming is doing quite well when
considered a stand-alone MCU movie that isnt an event team-up or even a mythology
episode (think The Winter Soldier). Spidey is still swinging relatively high.