Box office success for a Marvel film is no big surprise, but the numbers for Spider-Man:
Far From Home are well above even the hefty expectations that had been set for Spidey's
second solo swing through the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Here are some reasons why it soared.
And if you haven't seen it yet, here's your warning: Spoilers ahead!
Far From Home basks in what you might call an "Endgame aura."
Coming just two short months after the Avengers' climactic time heist broke the opening weekend
record to the tune of $1.2 billion, Far From Home promised to serve as an epilogue to 11
years of Marvel films.
A preview of Far From Home was added to the Endgame re-release in the place of an after-credits
scene.
The re-release effectively stirred the waters, bringing Marvel back into the forefront of
moviegoers' minds, teasing that Far From Home promised some juicy answers to those lingering
Endgame mysteries.
Endgame juggled a lot of different characters and storylines...
"Is that everyone?"
"You wanted more?"
...so a relatively low-key film like Far From Home helped answer some basic questions.
It showed what life was like in the aftermath of the "Blip" — the characters' term for
the second snap that brought everyone back in Endgame.
It addressed the age differences caused by the five-year gap and showed how the world
was handling the loss of Tony Stark.
People quite simply love Peter Parker.
The Web-Head is one of the most popular superheroes of all time, having served as Marvel Comics'
flagship character for more than 50 years, and holding down his own movie franchises
for nearly 20.
Andrew Garfield did a compelling, if sobering job as Peter Parker in his pair of Amazing
Spider-Man films, and the web-slinging wonder boy Tobey Maguire will always hold a nostalgic
place for fans.
But ever since he first appeared in Captain America: Civil War, Tom Holland has clearly
created one of the most popular versions of Spider-Man to date.
He just seems to have a charisma people can't get enough of.
Spider-Man: Far From Home was released on a Tuesday, which gave it a lengthy, six-day
"opening weekend" in the midst of the busy summer movie season.
The release date had originally been Friday, July 5th, but Sony made the wise decision
to move that date up to before the Independence Day holiday.
The move was meant to avoid any negative impacts from the movie debuting around a holiday,
an arrangement which can cause a dip in ticket sales.
The shift to Tuesday helped the movie gain momentum heading into the 4th of July, and
it paid off in spades.
Not only did the movie hit a home run at the box office, but it broke both Tuesday and
Wednesday ticket sales records, even beating out Endgame in the process.
Far From Home served as the finale not only to MCU Phase 3, but also to the Infinity Saga
as a whole.
Marvel President Kevin Feige explained why Spidey's story needed to be the bookend that
showed what came after Tony Stark's death in Endgame:
"The relationship between Peter Parker and Tony Stark is so special that we needed to
see how does Spider-Man step out of the shadow of his mentor, Tony Stark."
Far From Home wasn't just a follow up to Endgame; it was literally the final chapter in a twenty-two-film
story, making it a must-see experience.
The film is also the last MCU movie scheduled to release for nearly 10 months, so MCU fans
looking for their superhero fix knew this was their last chance to get one for a bit
— from Marvel Studios, at least.
Brought to life by Jake Gyllenhaal, Mysterio is a spectacular combination of a compelling
background, sinister motives, and twisted logic.
He's a villain with depth and motivation that resonates with the viewers, in part because
he's so sympathetic and likable in the first half of the movie.
Even the trailers spun him as a hero from another dimension, a sort of second Iron Man.
Beck's evil motives weren't a sure bet going into the film.
After all, just a few months before, Marvel had pulled a 180 with the Skrulls in Captain
Marvel, turning the classic comic book villains into tragic protagonists on the screen.
"My people lived as refugees on Torfa, homeless ever since we resisted Kree rule and they
destroyed our planet."
While Beck ultimately showed his true colors, his loyalties were an open question, and one
that likely pushed many viewers to head to theaters looking for an answer.
It was widely reported that the late Stan Lee's last cameo had come in Endgame.
That turned out to be true, but that didn't mean other cameos would be left by the wayside
in Far From Home.
A key question for many fans was just who would be showing up in the film.
Given his appearance in the trailers, Nick Fury's involvement was a given, but one surprise
is that he and Maria Hill turn out to be Skrulls in disguise while the real Fury is taking
a vacation, with Ben Mendelsohn and Sharon Blynn reprising their roles as Talos and Soren
from Captain Marvel.
In another interesting twist, Peter Billingsley reprises his role as William Ginter Riva,
the scientist confronted by Obadiah Stane in Iron Man.
And, of course, the best surprise of all had to be J.K. Simmons' return to his role as
J. Jonah Jameson during the mid-credits scene.
"You don't trust anybody.
That's your problem."
"I trust my barber."
Fans knew that the creators at Marvel wouldn't let them down in the cameo department, and
sure enough, they came through with flying colors.
Far From Home clearly functioned as a capstone for the Infinity Saga, but it also promised
to deliver a taste of what was to come next in the MCU.
How would it continue without Tony Stark and Steve Rogers at the helm?
Would Peter Parker end up stepping into Iron Man's boots, and how?
Would the world be any different — or even make sense — after the snap or the "blip"
that followed?
What about the multiverse?
"The snap tore a hole in our dimension."
"You're saying there's a multiverse?"
The desire for answers to all these questions along with a glimpse at how Marvel was setting
things up for Phase 4 was certainly on the minds of many fans as they bought their tickets
— more than once for some, it seems.
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