Spider-Man: Homecoming
Spider-Man: Homecoming is a 2017 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man, co-produced by Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. It is the second Spider-Man film reboot and the 16th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film was directed by Jon Watts from a screenplay by the writing teams of Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, Watts and Christopher Ford, and Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers. Tom Holland stars as Peter Parker / Spider-Man, alongside Michael Keaton, Jon Favreau, Gwyneth Paltrow, Zendaya, Donald Glover, Jacob Batalon, Laura Harrier, Tony Revolori, Bokeem Woodbine, Tyne Daly, Marisa Tomei, and Robert Downey Jr. In the film, Peter Parker tries to balance high school life with being Spider-Man while facing the Vulture (Keaton).
Spider-Man: Homecoming
- Jonathan Goldstein
- John Francis Daley
- Columbia Pictures
- Marvel Studios
- Pascal Pictures
- June 28, 2017 (TCL Chinese Theatre)
- July 7, 2017 (United States)
133 minutes[2]
United States
English
$175 million[3]
$880.2 million[3]
In February 2015, Marvel Studios and Sony reached a deal to share the film rights for Spider-Man, integrating the character into the established MCU. The following June, Holland was cast as the title character, and Watts was hired to direct. This was followed shortly by the hiring of Daley and Goldstein. In April 2016, the film's title was revealed, along with additional cast, including Downey in his MCU role of Tony Stark / Iron Man. Principal photography began in June 2016 at Pinewood Atlanta Studios in Fayette County, Georgia, and continued in Atlanta, Los Angeles, and New York City. The other screenwriters were revealed during filming, which concluded in Berlin in October 2016. The production team made efforts to differentiate the film from previous Spider-Man films.
Spider-Man: Homecoming premiered in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on June 28, 2017, and was released in the United States on July 7, as part of Phase Three of the MCU. Homecoming grossed over $880 million worldwide, becoming the second-most-successful Spider-Man film and the sixth-highest-grossing film of 2017. It received praise for the light tone, its focus on Parker's high school life, and the performances, particularly of Holland and Keaton. Two sequels have been released: Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). A new trilogy of live-action films from Sony and Marvel Studios is in development.
Plot[edit]
Following the Battle of New York in 2012,[a] Adrian Toomes and his salvage company are contracted to clean up the city, but their operation is taken over by the Department of Damage Control (DODC), a partnership between Tony Stark and the U.S. government. Enraged at being driven out of business, Toomes persuades his employees to keep the Chitauri technology they have already scavenged and use it to create and sell advanced weapons, including a flying Vulture suit Toomes uses to steal Chitauri power cells.
Eight years later,[b] Peter Parker is drafted into the Avengers by Stark to help with an internal dispute in Germany,[c] but resumes his studies at the Midtown School of Science and Technology when Stark tells him he is not yet ready to become a full-time Avenger. Parker quits his school's academic decathlon team to spend more time focusing on his crime-fighting activities as Spider-Man. His best friend, Ned, eventually discovers his secret identity.
Parker comes across Toomes' associates Jackson Brice / Shocker and Herman Schultz selling weapons to local criminal Aaron Davis. Parker saves Davis before being caught by Toomes in the Vulture suit and dropped in a lake, nearly drowning after becoming tangled in a parachute built into his suit. He is rescued by Stark, who is monitoring the Spider-Man suit he gave Parker and warns him against further involvement with the criminals. Toomes accidentally kills Brice with one of their weapons and Schultz becomes the new Shocker.
Parker and Ned study a weapon Brice left behind, removing its power core. When a tracking device on Schultz leads to Maryland, Parker rejoins the decathlon team and accompanies them to Washington, D.C. for their national tournament. Ned and Parker disable the tracker Stark implanted in the Spider-Man suit, and unlock its advanced features. Parker tries to stop Toomes from stealing weapons from a DODC truck but is trapped inside, causing him to miss the decathlon tournament. When he discovers that the power core is an unstable Chitauri grenade, he races to the Washington Monument, where the core is activated and explodes, trapping Ned and their friends in an elevator. Parker saves them, including his classmate and crush Liz. Days later, in New York City, aboard the Staten Island Ferry, Parker captures Toomes' new buyer Mac Gargan but Toomes escapes and a malfunctioning weapon tears the ferry in half. Stark helps Parker save the passengers, but confiscates his suit as punishment for his recklessness.
Parker returns to his high school life and asks Liz to go to the homecoming dance with him. On the night of the dance, he discovers that Toomes is Liz's father. Deducing Parker's secret identity, Toomes threatens him. Parker realizes Toomes is planning to hijack a DODC plane transporting weapons from Avengers Tower to the team's new headquarters in Upstate New York. He leaves the dance and dons his old homemade Spider-Man suit. Though he is ambushed outside by Schultz, he defeats him with Ned's help. He races to Toomes' lair, where Toomes attacks Parker, destroying the building's support columns, and leaves Parker to die, trapped in the rubble of the collapsed building. Parker escapes and intercepts the plane, steering it to crash on the beach at Coney Island. He and Toomes continue fighting, ending with Parker saving Toomes' life after the damaged Vulture suit explodes. Parker leaves Toomes for the police along with the plane's cargo. After her father's arrest, Liz moves away. Parker declines an invitation from Stark to join the Avengers full time, and Stark proposes to Pepper Potts. Stark also returns the Spider-Man suit to Parker, who puts it on just as his aunt May walks in.
In a mid-credits scene, an incarcerated Gargan approaches Toomes in prison, saying he has heard that the latter knows Spider-Man's real identity, though Toomes denies this.
Additionally, Kerry Condon and Chris Evans reprise their roles as F.R.I.D.A.Y. and Steve Rogers / Captain America from previous MCU films, respectively.[60][61] Rogers appears in public service announcements played at Parker's school.[61] Garcelle Beauvais portrays Doris Toomes, Adrian's wife and Liz's mother,[62][63] and Jennifer Connelly provides the voice of Karen, the A.I. in Parker's suit.[60] Hemky Madera appears as Mr. Delmar, the owner of a local bodega, while Gary Weeks portrays Damage Control agent Foster.[64] Logan Marshall-Green plays Jackson Brice, the first Shocker, who is an accomplice of Toomes' who uses modified, vibro-blast shooting versions of Brock Rumlow's gauntlets.[21][65][66] Other business partners of Toomes' include: Michael Chernus as Phineas Mason,[16][67] Michael Mando as Mac Gargan,[49][68] and Christopher Berry as Randy Vale.[64][69]
Faculty at Parker's high school include: Kenneth Choi, who previously played Jim Morita in the MCU, as Jim's descendant Principal Morita;[66][70] Hannibal Buress as Coach Wilson,[71] the school's gym teacher, who he described as "one of the dumbass characters that don't realize [Parker is] Spider-Man";[72][73] Martin Starr, who reprises his previously unnamed role from The Incredible Hulk (2008),[74] as Mr. Harrington,[66] a teacher and academic decathlon coach;[75][76] Selenis Leyva as Ms. Warren;[77][78] Tunde Adebimpe as Mr. Cobbwell;[64] and John Penick as Mr. Hapgood.[79] Parker's classmates include: Isabella Amara as Sally;[80][81] Jorge Lendeborg Jr. as Jason Ionello;[80][82] Josie Totah[d] as Seymour;[80][83] Abraham Attah as Abraham;[66][84] Tiffany Espensen as Cindy;[62][85] Angourie Rice as Betty Brant;[86][87] Michael Barbieri as Charles;[82][88][89] and Ethan Dizon as Tiny.[82] Martha Kelly appears in the film as a tour guide,[64][90] Zach Cherry appears as a street vendor who asks Spider-Man to "do a flip",[91] and Kirk Thatcher makes a cameo appearance as a "punk", an homage to his role in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986).[92] Spider-Man co-creator Stan Lee also has a cameo, as a New York City apartment resident named Gary who witnesses Parker's confrontation with a neighbor.[93][94]
Marketing[edit]
Watts, Holland, Batalon, Harrier, Revolori, and Zendaya appeared at the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con to show an exclusive clip of the film,[36][198] which also had a panel at Comic Con Experience 2016.[199] The first trailer for Homecoming premiered on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on December 8, 2016,[200] and was released online alongside an international version, which Feige thought was different enough that "it would be fun for people to see both."[18] The shots of Vulture descending through a hotel atrium and Spider-Man swinging with Iron Man flying beside him were created specifically for the trailer. Watts explained that the Vulture shot was created for Comic-Con and "was never meant to be in the movie", but he was able to repurpose the angle for Vulture's reveal in the film. The Spider-Man and Iron Man shot was created because the marketing team wanted a shot of the two together, and existing shots "just didn't look that great" then. The trailer shot used a background plate taken when filming the subway in Queens.[115] The two trailers were viewed over 266 million times globally within a week.[103]
On March 28, 2017, a second trailer debuted after screening at CinemaCon 2017 the night before.[201] Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at BoxOffice.com, noted that the new Justice League trailer had received more Twitter mentions in that week but there was "clearer enthusiasm for Spider-Man". The Homecoming trailer was second for the week of March 20–26 in new conversations (85,859) behind Justice League (201,267), according to comScore's PreAct service, which is "a tracking service utilizing social data to create context of the ever-evolving role of digital communication on feature films".[202] An exclusive clip from the film was seen during the 2017 MTV Movie & TV Awards.[203] On May 24, Sony and Marvel released a third domestic and international trailer.[204] Ethan Anderton of /Film enjoyed both trailers, stating Homecoming "has the potential to be the best Spider-Man movie yet. Having the webslinger as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe just feels right".[205] TechCrunch's Darrell Etherington agreed, saying, "You may have feelings about a tech-heavy Spider-Man suit or other aspects of this interpretation of the character, but it's still shaping up to be better than any Spider-Man depicted in movies in recent memory."[206] Ana Dumaraog for Screen Rant said the second trailer "arguably showed too much of the movie's overarching narrative", but the third "perfectly shows the right amount of new and old footage". She also appreciated the attention to detail that Watts and the writers put into the film, as highlighted by the trailers.[207] Siddhant Adlakha of Birth.Movies.Death also felt the trailers were giving away too many details,[208] but enjoyed them overall, especially the "vlogging" aspect.[209] Collider's Dave Trombore expressed similar sentiments to Adlakha.[210] After the trailers' release, comScore and its PreAct service noted Homecoming was the top film for new social media conversations, that week and the week of May 29.[211][212]
Alongside the release of the third trailers were domestic and international release posters.[204] The domestic poster was criticized for its "floating head" style,[208][213] which offers "a chaotic mess of people looking in different directions, with little sense of what the film will deliver".[213] Dan Auty for GameSpot called it a "star studded hot mess",[213] while Vanity Fair's Katey Rich felt the poster was "too bogged down by the many different threads of the Marvel universe to highlight anything that's made Spider-Man: Homecoming seem special so far".[214] Adlakha felt the posters released for the film "have been alright thus far, but these ones probably tell general audiences to expect a very bloated movie". Adlakha was more positive of the international poster, which he felt was more "comicbook-y" and "looks like it could be an actual scene from the film".[208] Both Rich and Adlakha criticized the fact that Holland, Keaton, and Downey appeared twice on the domestic poster, both in and out of costume.[208][214] Sony partnered with ESPN CreativeWorks to create cross-promotional television ads for Homecoming and the 2017 NBA Finals, which were filmed by Watts. The ads were made to "weave in a highlight from the game just moments" after it occurred.[215] The promos see Holland, Downey Jr., and Favreau reprise their roles from the film, with cameo appearances from Stan Lee, DJ Khaled, Tim Duncan, Magic Johnson, and Cari Champion.[103] Through June and July 2017, a Homecoming-inspired cafe opened in the Roppongi Hills complex in Tokyo, offering "arachnid-themed foods and drinks, including a Spider Curry, Spider-Sense Latte and a sweet and refreshing Strawberry Spider Squash drink", as well as a free, limited-edition sticker with any purchase.[216]
For the week ending on June 11, comScore and its PreAct service noted that new social media conversations for the film were second only to Black Panther and its new trailer;[217] Homecoming was then the number one film in the next two weeks.[218][219] That month, Sony released a mobile app allowing users to "access" Parker's phone and "view his photos, videos, text messages, and hear voicemails from his friends". The app also provided an "AR Suit Explorer" to learn more about the technology in the Spider-Man suit, and use photo filters, GIFs, and stickers of the character.[220] Sony and Dave & Buster's also announced an arcade game based on the film, playable exclusively at Dave & Buster's locations.[221] A tie-in comic, Spider-Man: Homecoming Prelude, was released on June 20, collecting two prelude issues.[222] On June 28, in partnership with Thinkmodo, a promotional prank was released in which Spider-Man (stuntman Chris Silcox) dropped from the ceiling in a coffee shop to scare customers; the video also featured a cameo appearance from Lee.[223] Sony also partnered with the mobile app Holo to let users add 3D holograms of Spider-Man, with Holland's voice and lines from the film, to real-world photos and videos.[224] Before the end of June, Spider-Man: Homecoming—Virtual Reality Experience was released on the PlayStation VR, Oculus Rift, and HTC Vive for free, produced by Sony Pictures VR and developed by CreateVR. It allows users to experience how it feels to be Spider-Man, with the ability to hit targets with his web-shooters and face off against the Vulture. It was also available at select Cinemark Theatres in the United States and at the CineEurope trade show in Barcelona.[225]
Ahead of the film's release, for the week ending on July 2, the film was the top film for the third consecutive week for new social media conversations, according to comScore, which also noted that Spider-Man: Homecoming had produced a total of 2.67 million conversations to date.[226] Other promotions included Audi and Dell (both also had product placement in the film), Pizza Hut, General Mills, Synchrony Bank, MovieTickets.com, Goodwill, Baskin-Robbins, Dunkin' Donuts, Danone Waters, Panasonic Batteries, M&M's, Mondelez, Asus, Bimbo, Jetstar, KEF, Kellogg's, Lieferheld, PepsiCo, Plus, Roady, Snickers, Sony Mobile, Oppo, Optus, and Doritos. Watts directed a commercial for Dell's marketing efforts as well, which earned 2.8 million views online. Goodwill hosted a build-your-own Spider-Man suit contest, with the winner attending the film's premiere. Overall, the campaign generated over $140 million in media value, greater than those for all previous Spider-Man films and Marvel Studios' first 2017 release, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. This does not include merchandising for the film, which is controlled by Marvel and Disney.[227] Marketing of the film in China included partnering with Momo, iQiyi, Tencent QQ, Baidu, Mizone, CapitaLand, Xiaomi, HTC, and corporate parent Sony.[228][229] To help target the teenage audience, Holland "recorded a high school entrance exam greeting" while The Rap of China contestant PG One recorded a theme song.[228]
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
Spider-Man: Homecoming grossed over $334.2 million in the United States and Canada, and $546 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $880.2 million.[3] The film had the second-biggest global IMAX opening for a Sony film with $18 million.[233] In May 2017, a survey from Fandango indicated that Homecoming was the second-most-anticipated summer blockbuster behind Wonder Woman.[244] By September 24, 2017, the film had earned $874.4 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing superhero film of 2017, and the sixth-largest film based on a Marvel character.[245] Deadline Hollywood calculated the film's net profit as $200.1 million, accounting for production budgets, marketing, talent participations, and other costs; box office grosses and home media revenues placed it seventh on their list of 2017's "Most Valuable Blockbusters".[246]
The film earned $50.9 million on its opening day in the United States and Canada (including $15.4 million from Thursday night previews),[103] and had a total weekend gross of $117 million, the top film for the weekend.[247] It was the second-highest opening for both a Spider-Man film and a Sony film, after Spider-Man 3's $151.1 million debut in 2007.[103] Early projections for the film from BoxOffice had it earning $135 million in its opening weekend,[248] which was later adjusted to $125 million,[249] and Deadline Hollywood noting industry projections at anywhere between $90–120 million.[234] In its second weekend, the film fell to second behind War for the Planet of the Apes with $44.2 million, a 62% decline in earnings, which was similar to the declines The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3 had in their second weekends. Additionally, Homecoming's domestic gross reached $208.3 million, which surpassed the total domestic gross of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 ($202.9 million).[250] The film fell to third in its third weekend.[251] By July 26, Homecoming's domestic gross reached $262.1 million, surpassing the total domestic gross of The Amazing Spider-Man ($262 million),[252] leading to a fifth-place finish for its fourth weekend.[253] The next weekend, Homecoming finished sixth,[254] and finished seventh the following five weekends.[255][256][257][258][259] By September 3, 2017, the film had earned $325.1 million,[258] surpassing the $325 million projected amount for its total domestic gross.[248] In its eleventh weekend, Homecoming finished ninth.[260]
Outside of the United States and Canada, Spider-Man: Homecoming earned $140.5 million its opening weekend from the 56 markets it opened in, with the film becoming number one in 50 of them. The $140.5 million was the highest opening ever for a Spider-Man film.[233] South Korea had the highest Wednesday opening day gross,[261] which contributed to a $25.4 million five-day opening in the country, the third-highest opening ever for a Hollywood film.[233] Brazil had the largest July opening day of all time, with $2 million,[261] leading to an opening weekend total of $8.9 million. The $7 million earned from IMAX showings was the top opening of all time for a Sony film internationally.[233] In its second weekend, the film opened in France at number one and number two in Germany. It earned an additional $11.9 million in South Korea, to bring its total in the country to $42.2 million. This made Homecoming the highest-grossing Spider-Man film and the top-grossing Hollywood film of 2017 in the country. Brazil contributed an additional $5.7 million, for a total of $19.4 million from the country, which was also the largest gross from a Spider-Man film.[262] The film's third weekend saw the Latin America region set a record as the highest-grossing Spider-Man film of all time, with a region total of $77.4 million. Brazil remained the top-grossing market for the region, with $25.7 million. In South Korea, the film became the 10th-highest-grossing international release of all time.[263] Homecoming opened at number one in Spain in its fourth weekend.[264] In its sixth weekend, the film opened at number one in Japan, with its $770,000 from IMAX the fourth-largest IMAX weekend for a Marvel film in the country.[265] The film opened at number one in China on September 8, 2017, grossing $23 million on its opening day, including Thursday previews, making it the third biggest opening day for a Marvel Cinematic Universe film, behind Avengers: Age of Ultron and Captain America: Civil War, and the largest opening day gross for a Sony film in the country.[228] The $70.8 million Homecoming earned in China for its opening weekend was the third-highest opening behind Age of Ultron and Civil War, with $6 million from IMAX, which was the best IMAX opening weekend in September, and the best IMAX opening weekend for a Sony film.[229] As of September 24, 2017, the film's largest markets were China ($115.7 million),[245] South Korea ($51.4 million), and the United Kingdom ($34.8 million).[266]