Godzilla, Shang-Chi, James Bond, Venom, and the rest of the “Fast and Furious” cast and crew all gave it their all. Nevertheless, re-commandeering the culture after a pandemic shutdown has taken far longer than Hollywood had anticipated.
In the end, it was only a matter of time until “Spider-Man: No Way Home” swung exclusively into cinemas on Thursday.
As of 3 p.m. on Thursday, Sony Pictures Entertainment has received $50 million from “preview” screenings of “No Way Home,” which began at the studio’s headquarters. Sony Pictures Entertainment funded and produced the film in conjunction with Disney-owned Marvel Studios. It was the third-highest preview result in Hollywood history, behind only “Avengers: Endgame” ($60 million) and “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” ($57 million) in terms of box office take.
The film “No Way Home,” which has garnered overwhelmingly positive reviews, is expected to gross more than $150 million in North America over the course of the weekend.
Amy Pascal and Kevin Feige have both been associated with the series in some way or another from its inception: they are the franchise’s co-creators. During her tenure as the company’s senior movie executive from 1999 to 2015, Pascal was in charge of the company’s first five live-action Spider-Man films, and she has since produced the company’s final three. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige worked on the first three Spider-Man films in different roles, initially in relative obscurity, and has been a producer on the past three in his capacity as the company’s president.
The two of them chatted to me through video conference from their respective residences in Los Angeles. These are edited portions from the chat, which may include some “No Way Home” spoilers, so proceed with caution.
You can’t possibly dream of doing better than yourself in terms of spectacle. Otherwise, movies just grow in size without any rhyme or reason, which is not a desirable outcome. We do, however, want to always strive to outdo ourselves in terms of quality and passion. Kevin and I both want to have one thing in mind at all times: Peter Parker. That he’s a typical youngster. That he has been orphaned on several occasions. Because he is a teenager, everything in his life is at a fever pitch, and everything is more important than everything else in his life. That he is motivated by feelings of kindness and remorse. That he is working for a higher cause and that he is being maligned by the media.
PASCAL After that, Kevin contacted me and came over to the home to tell me, “I’ve had an inspiration.” “What if Tony Stark builds Peter’s suit?” you may wonder. That’s when I realised how much we could do as a team. It seemed so much more current to have Iron Man and Spider-Man in the same environment, one that was anchored more in technical advancement — the new suit — and less in medical research, which was where we were previously restricted.
