They made a movie people wanted to see!
And see in big numbers..
This weekend, the SPIDER-MAN reboot starring Tom Holland went mega-box office. The movie scored about a $119 mil opening in theaters. This is the second biggest opening of all time for SONY–and potentially something that would have been unheard of only in 2014 when the biggest news was the leaked emailed scandal and mega-flop after flop from the studio..
The coupling with Marvel in this matter has led the studio to success–and a summer box office hit in a season where eggs are all that can be found.
The movie has been called a ‘John Hughes’ homage. There is humor, there is abundant action.. there is a storyline to lend an ego boost to millennials and teenagers who feel awkward.. This Holland approach to SPIDEY is awkward on purpose. But SPIDER-MAN should be! Any old comic book fan will tell you that in a abundant array of facts and lectures. If you have the time they’ll even prove it with an old dusty set of paper..
Think about this, however.. What made this movie actually work? It is the opposite of the new ‘darker’ style of comic book movies.. where IRON MAN has a blood battle with CAPTAIN AMERICA.. where the SUICIDE SQUAD kills an entire city just to save it.. where DEADPOOL hunts his prey..Where BATMAN’s Gotham City is haunted by terrorism and horror…
This new SPIDER-MAN has explosions and action, bad guys and fear. But it has an innocent teenager kid who isn’t really appreciating the fact he is saving the world. With humor.
Yes, the comic book fandom world is aging. But it still wants some innocent fun. This movie seems to be providing it.
I read this in a story published by DEADLINE this morning,
“This is a triumphant return of Spider-Man, it’s one of the best-reviewed superhero movies of all-time and an incredible win for Sony and Marvel,” beamed Josh Greenstein, Sony’s president of worldwide marketing and distribution this morning.There was always the notion that this Spider-Man would skew younger and ComScore/Screen Engine’s PostTrak supports that showing 43% under 18 in updated audience polls. Since Friday, the under 25 crowd swelled with females moving from 18% to 22%, the third best demo for Homecoming after guys under 25 (35%), men over 25 (24%) and ahead of women 25+ (19%). Quite often studio marketing chiefs refer to older teens and young twentysomethings as the “lost generation” — a reliable moviegoing demographic in the 1980s and 1990s, now a challenge to get into seats with their social media, YouTube and Netflix distractions. Sony conquered that hurdle by marketing Homecoming to millions of young males around the world on Playstation with the pic’s opening sequence “A Film by Peter Parker.”
That clip showed the over-excited young lad shooting his Civil War adventures with the Avengers on his cell phone. Rolling out the marketing for Homecoming was critical, and being woven into the greater MCU was key. Again, this all began at CinemaCon last year when Disney/Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War introduced Tom Holland’s Spider-Man as a member of the Avengers team. We further detail the marketing below and Sony’s $140M+ promotional partnerships here.
Think about this, as well.. what other movie can be rebooted three times in a decade and still equal this much success? What were the ingredients that played so well? What audience was the beneficiary?
I to date have not seen SPIDER-MAN yet. I wanted to with at least eight people so far who turned down the offer.. I think this is playing to only certain people. Maybe the people I am asking aren’t those that the Holland SPIDEY is appealing to?
However.. I do plan on forcing my son to go. If all goes well, he and will want to go a second time.
While this may be a premature judgement since I have yet to watch the film, I will say this: It seems the success of SPIDER-MAN in a summer of duds is due to the fact that a studio finally merged with a company to finally make a movie people wanted to see..
And thanks Stan Lee. Without you none of this entertainment would be possible.
How can you go wrong.. a movie with a story and humor, action and fun.. A MARVEL hero.. and a marketing technique that even had Tom Holland making public visits to sick children in hospitals as their friendly neighborhood SPIDER-MAN.
MAYBE DC COMICS NEEDS TO BORROW A PAGE FROM THE MARVEL PLAYBOOK..
