Is it perfect timing, cool vibes, or can Spider-Man just not miss at the box office?
For all these reasons and more, "Across the Spider-Verse" blew the competition away.
Some superheroes are pretty obscure – and some are Spider-Man.
Regardless, the first "Spider-Verse" asked a lot from viewers, centering on a Spidey
who'd never been tested on the big screen.
In addition to focusing on Miles Morales, it was also one of the first modern superhero
movies to embrace the concept of the multiverse, bringing a whole crew of obscure takes on
Spider-Man and making them front and center.
Compared to live-action tentpoles starring the likes of Tom Holland or Andrew Garfield
as the familiar Peter Parker, this Spider-Man adventure arrived somewhat under-the-radar.
That's not the case this time around.
Thanks to great reviews that called it maybe the best Spider-Man film ever made, the original
movie won over legions of new fans in their living rooms, building a groundswell of excitement
that had the sequel opening to a far larger potential audience.
As a result, "Across the Spider-Verse" will likely surpass the box office total of its
predecessor in a fraction of the time.
"I've leveled up my whole thing, see?"
With a 2019 Oscar win for best animated feature and a plethora of other accolades, "Into the
Spider-Verse" was too successful to be called a cult movie, but it nonetheless collected
a substantial cult of die-hards.
As Slashfilm puts it, the sequel's success "speaks volumes about how the audience for
the first film exploded over the last 4 years."
Keep in mind, this trend is likely to continue — "Across the Spider-Verse" will undoubtedly
play well in fans' homes for months to come, winning over yet more new converts who will
be pounding at the theater doors in March 2024.
Thanks to this movie's many cliffhangers, no one who sees it will want to miss the grand
conclusion promised by its own upcoming sequel, "Beyond the Spider-Verse."
Out of all the recent Spider–Man movies, "Into the Spider-Verse" was the only one to
have made less than $700 million worldwide.
Nonetheless, its reported final haul of over $375 million represented a healthy profit
when compared to the movie's $90 million budget.
For over two decades now, Spider-Man movies have been as close to a sure bet as you can
get in Hollywood, regardless of who stars in them or how well they're received by critics
and audiences.
Peter Parker's appearances in the Marvel Cinematic Universe have also come in some of its most
lucrative installments — "Captain America: Civil War," "Avengers: Infinity War," and
"Avengers: Endgame" — which, combined, made about $6 billion.
The original Spider-Verse opened relatively modestly for Sony, netting over $35 million
at the global box office and winning the weekend on the back of its familiar branding.
After that movie won so many fans over, the sequel's opening weekend blew it out of the
water, raking in well over three times as much money with $120.5 million.
When "Into the Spider-Verse" premiered, moviegoers who weren't steeped in the source material
may not have been exposed to the concept of a multiverse.
While there were stray sci-fi movies and tv shows that dealt with alternate realities,
the word "multiverse" was rarely if ever used, and the concept was far from the center of
the zeitgeist.
"Are you from another dimension?
Like a parallel universe where things are like this universe but different and you're
spider-man in that universe but somehow traveled to this universe but you don't know how?"
Although the notion was vaguely referenced in 2016's "Doctor Strange," the MCU's multiverse
didn't really get kicking until after 2019's "Avengers: Endgame."
Phases 4 and 5's inter-dimensional stories like "Loki" and "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse
of Madness" brought the concept heavily into the overarching plot.
That means "Into the Spider-Verse" should get substantial credit for making multiverses mainstream.
Consider this: Only four years after that film served as a multiverse primer, "Everything
Everywhere All at Once" — a live-action film about the concept — won seven Academy
Awards, including best picture.
In the years between the first and second "Spider-Verse" films, the notion of infinite
planes of existence has become commonplace enough that it almost feels like a cliche.
Audiences probably didn't buy a ticket to "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" specifically
because they love multiverses so much; it's the fan-favorite character and the phenomenal
animation that are the stars of this series.
But because multiversal storytelling has more of a place in popular culture than ever before,
selling audiences on the fundamental concept was easier than ever.
While history shows that people will go see a "Spider-Man" movie regardless of the reviews,
it certainly helps if the buzz prior to release is as strong as it was "Spider-Man: Across
the Spider-Verse."
On the heels of opening weekend, its Rotten Tomatoes score jumped straight to 95 percent,
making it one of the most acclaimed major studio films of the year.
Its audience score went even higher at 96 percent.
Though "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" settled into a slightly higher 97 percent
Rotten Tomatoes rating, many critics called the sequel even better than the original in
their write-ups.
Fan sentiment has been equally effusive, and the only thing bringing down these rave reviews
is the film's abrupt ending.
It's two hours and 30 minutes, yet is effectively the first half of a story that will resolve
itself in next year's "Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse."
The release of "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" was delayed twice.
Initially, a teaser advertised a premiere date of April 2022.
That got bumped back to October, then Sony execs finally settled on June 2, 2023.
Though the postponements were frustrating to fans eager to see Miles Morales in action
again, this might be a case of good things coming to those who wait.
The move gave the creative team more time to get "Across the Spider-Verse" just right,
and it provided the movie with a choice spot on the calendar.
With school letting out and families looking for something to do, "Across the Spider-Verse"
only had "The Little Mermaid" in its second week to grapple with.
"The Super Mario Bros. Movie" and "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" were still in theaters
at the time of its release, but they weren't the juggernauts they were weeks prior.
Coming later in June are DC's "The Flash" and Pixar's "Elemental," both of which drop
into cinemas on the 16th.
The former has strong buzz but a potential problem to overcome in its embattled star,
Ezra Miller.
Bad reviews out of Cannes poured cold water on the prospects of "Elemental."
Neither is tracking anywhere near the "Spider-Verse" sequel's opening weekend totals, all of which
should allow the Spidey sequel additional weeks to dominate the box office and pad out
its total earnings.
While most theatrical animated movies these days are rated PG, the vast majority of superhero
and comic book movies are rated PG-13.
That PG-13 rating, however, doesn't necessarily stop parents from bringing younger children
to see, say, the latest installment of the MCU.
Sometimes word gets out that a PG-13 film is too much for some kids to handle.
"Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" and "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" both
pushed the envelope when it came to horror, adult situations and humor.
"Okay, now what?"
"Open the f—ing door."
Like the original, "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" is rated PG, but brilliantly
positions itself in the gray area between an eye-dazzling kids' cartoon and more adult-oriented,
dark superhero territory.
This gives parents of children who might still be too young for some of Marvel's racier titles
peace of mind.
Sure, the artistry and the emotionality are far more mature than the average animated
movie, but there's minimal objectionable language, no gross out moments, and no blood.
"Across the Spider-Verse" is packed full of good role models and positive messages about
what it means to be a kid and a parent.
Its well-deserved PG rating, plus its overall quality and relevant themes, make it perfect
for a family outing.
Just because "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" is appropriate for single digit-aged audience
members doesn't mean older teens and adults won't be entertained.
Yes, it's a cartoon.
Yes, it has messages about family and identity.
But absolutely nothing about "Across the Spider-Verse" is simple or sugar-coated.
Visually and narratively, the film is equal parts authentic and edgy.
Miles and Gwen face complex and sometimes gut-wrenching problems that don't have obvious solutions.
Whole stretches of the movie are downright sad, which is skillfully reflected in the
animation style and color palette.
The humor is also sharper than one would expect from a PG movie.
Writers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller are known for being able to deliver rapid-fire
gags, as they did in "The LEGO Movie"— another PG rated film that manages to be PG-13 style funny.
The jokes are smart, subversive, and fun, and the plot, which is remarkably unpredictable
for a kids movie, keeps fans on their toes and trying to guess what's going to happen next.
The film's PG rating welcomes a younger subset of viewers, while doing nothing to deter the
demographic that usually prefers more complex PG-13 and R-rated movies.
Kid movies and superhero movies are perfect opportunities for merchandising and product placement.
Every time one comes out, brand new affiliated items can be found on store shelves and at
fast food restaurants.
"Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" is no different.
Tied to its release, Burger King offered a limited time BK-Verse menu that featured a
red-bunned Whopper and a Spider-Verse ice cream sundae.
The Whopper sold out within days.
Selling out even faster were new "Across the Spider-Verse"-branded Air Jordan 1 "Next Chapter"
high tops, gone in less than an hour.
"Are those my Jordans?"
"I can't help it if we're the same size."
Merch builds hype among the most devoted fans and collectors, but not everyone cares about
these kinds of promotions.
Just because Burger King, LEGO, and Nike are household name brands doesn't mean everyone
is desperate for a red hamburger bun or a pair of $200 sneakers.
These types of promotions do, however, get a film's name out there.
Logos and images are plastered on store windows and internet browsers, and people subconsciously
become aware that a movie like "Across the Spider-Verse" is coming soon.
For all the planning that goes into making a movie, there's one thing that matters that's
almost beyond the creators' control – is it cool?
The cool factor is kind of intangible, and it's not the kind of thing that you can force.
If a piece of pop culture becomes cool to engage with, talk about, make memes about,
its impact on pop culture gets much larger; as it builds an audience, no one wants to
be left out.
"Across the Spider-Verse" is undeniably cool.
But this impossibly high cool factor didn't come out of nowhere.
Miles' Jordans and Gwen's Converse are well-established, eternally cool brands.
The creative flourishes and in-jokes are cool.
Lord and Miller are cool.
The voice actors all range from well known to beloved.
The original soundtrack by Metro Boomin and a Spider-Verse-full of famous collaborators
is pretty cool, as well.
But perhaps the coolest thing about "Across the Spider-Verse" is a new, surefire breakout
fan favorite character, Spider-Punk.
Otherwise known as Hobie Brown, Spider-Punk is depicted in a faded out two dimensional
collage of poster scraps, reminiscent of the Sex Pistols aesthetic, among others.
Played by Oscar winner Daniel Kaluuya, he has a thick cockney accent, and when he takes
his mask off, Miles can't believe he's even cooler underneath.
It's no surprise that the terms "Hobie" and "Spider-Punk" were trending on Twitter upon
the film's release, or that fan art is already proliferating across the internet.
Most people who saw "Across the Spider-Verse" on opening weekend only saw it once, but you
can bet many will be seeing it again.
This is one sequel that begs to be rewatched, for multiple reasons.
First, the art, the music, the script, and the voice acting are so layered and complex,
fans want to pull further on some of the many threads that appear only briefly.
Second, though there are moments where the movie slows down to have a moment of human
connection, most of it moves so fast, audiences leave a first viewing feeling as though they
must have missed something.
The sequel is overflowing with Easter eggs, callbacks, and cameos; sometimes multiple
references share the same frame.
There are allusions to the first movie, allusions to the live-action "Spider-Man" movies, allusions
to Lord and Miller's other movies, nods to comic books, nods to video games, as-of-yet
unseen variants of Spider-Man, and the number 42 appears more times than anyone could reasonably
catch the first time around.
There are even editor notes, like in the comics, which sometimes appear and vanish too quickly
for viewers who don't yet have the benefit of a pause button.
Taken as a whole, this ridiculous level of "rewatchability" should help "Across the Spider-Verse"
stay at or near the top of the box office throughout the first half of the summer.