Spider-Man Shows Why Cinemas Aren't Dead Yet
It has been another roller-coaster year for many industries, including cinemas and movie theatres.
In October there were the real signs of recovery when Andy Serkis’ Venom: Let There Be Carnage broke all U.S. COVID-era box office records. Tom Hardy’s superb anti-hero took $90M in three days. Not bad at all!
Since then, we have seen the rise of Omicron (golly that really does sound like a film subtitle) and an increase in infection rates around the world. Many countries are introducing new restrictions. Even though England is holding fire and relying on a vaccine booster programme, I know that I am currently more nervous about visiting the cinema than I was a few months ago.
That backdrop makes the performance of Marvel’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, all the more remarkable. In the space of three days, it took an astonishing $253M at the U.S. box office. Factoring in inflation, it now lays claim to the second highest opening of any film, ever. (Avengers: Endgame still holds the record with $357M.)
Remarkable.
AotM Jr went to see Spidey’s latest adventure with his girlfriend (having watched all of the Marvel films together, I am apparently now surplus to requirements) and if their reaction is anything to go by, the film more than deserves it. It has now taken over $1B at the global box-office.
However, it hasn’t been all smiles at the box office over the festive period. It seems that movie-goers are weighing the risks carefully and considering “what is the one film that I want to see on the big screen this Christmas?”.
Your friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man has been the overwhelming winner, with the Matrix reboot in particular failing to live up to initial expectations. But there is another dynamic at play. While Spider-Man can only be seen in cinemas, The Matrix: Resurrections is also simultaneously available to stream at home on HBO.
Which brings us to a question we explored in an earlier blog post. How are cinemas faring in the battle with home-streaming?
This fantastic film from the excellent U.S. news website Vox, explores the question brilliantly. It is well worth a watch for any lover of the big screen experience.
As we round off another year, we would like to thank you all for sharing our love of movie posters and all things cinema and to wish you all a superb New Year. Hopefully it will be a more settled one for us all.
Next week we will consider some movie themed New Year's Resolutions, before we take a look at the films we are looking forward to in 2022!
Adam and the Art of the Movies team.
