Spider-Man: Homecoming is quite a discussion point, as it not only is the third time a famous IP has been rebooted, but also will see if the famous character still has some staying power at the Box Office, especially with his inclusion as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A while back the film was estimated to reach around an optimistic $135 million in its opening weekend, but these were very early estimates from May. Deadline now reports that the actual estimate may be a bit smaller, but this can naturally change when the film was shown to critics and word-of-mouth gets around.
The current tracking sees the film at a still great $100 million, which is certainly far above most Box Office numbers of the year so far domestically. Films such as The Mummy, Alien: Covenant and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales have all under performed, but as much as people have discussed the “superhero fatigue”, this film genre has proven quite reliable when it comes to pulling in an audience. Naturally, the focus remains on the male demographic, which is quite dominating, but one exceptional aspect of a character like Spider-Man is his universal appear. An industry expert highlights that the character is quite “strong across the board” so with good word-of-mouth anything is possible.
This trend does highlight that superhero films are the strongest draws, as even this year’s latest entry into the Transformers series, The Last Knight, will be the series lowest opening with $70 million over five days. 2017 is quite a disappointing year so far with the biggest opening being Beauty and the Beast followed by Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Wonder Woman. So far only Beauty and the Beast and The Fate of the Furious have passed the billion mark thanks to a strong international pull. It will be interesting to see how well Homecoming will do at the Box Office and if it will share the franchises legs that allows it to gather a considerable amount over a longer period.
There is one possible reason for a lackluster BO this year, as a lot of attention is towards next year’s large release of Avengers: Infinity War and overall high expectations of current releases. Many believed that we would see Guardians 2 pass the billion mark, as the first film was a major surprise success, so naturally expectations skyrocketed for the film to reach new heights. If you compare the Marvel Studios’ sequels, it actually has the strongest domestic gross of a non-Avengers film, even beating their tentpole franchise Iron Man. This is also the first year we will get three film releases from the studios, so with many people anticipating the major release next year and the additional release of Thor: Ragnarok, a lot of anticipation is scattered out a bit more. It is easier to compare the year once all films have come out, but so far the strongest franchises are still superhero-related. The latest Spidey reboot could be holding this year’s BO results together.
What do you think? How much do you think Homecoming will make?
Source: Deadline, Box Office Mojo, Box Office Mojo (Sequel comparison)
