Spider-Man: No Way Home
Spider-Man: No Way Home is a 2021 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 sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) and Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), and the 27th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film was directed by Jon Watts and written by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers. It stars Tom Holland as Peter Parker / Spider-Man alongside Zendaya, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jacob Batalon, Jon Favreau, Jamie Foxx, Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina, Benedict Wong, Tony Revolori, Marisa Tomei, Andrew Garfield, and Tobey Maguire. In the film, Parker asks Dr. Stephen Strange (Cumberbatch) to use magic to make his identity as Spider-Man a secret again after this was revealed to the world at the end of Far From Home. When the spell goes wrong because of Parker's actions, the multiverse is broken open and visitors from alternate realities are brought into Parker's universe.
Spider-Man: No Way Home
- Jeffrey Ford
- Leigh Folsom Boyd
- Columbia Pictures
- Marvel Studios
- Pascal Pictures
- December 13, 2021 (Fox Village Theatre)
- December 17, 2021 (United States)
148 minutes[1]
United States
English
$200 million[2]
A third MCU Spider-Man film was planned during the production of Homecoming in 2017. Negotiations between Sony and Marvel Studios to alter their deal—in which they produce the Spider-Man films together—ended with Marvel Studios leaving the project in August 2019, but a negative fan reaction led to a new deal between the companies a month later. Watts, McKenna, Sommers, and Holland were set to return, and filming took place from October 2020 to March 2021 in New York City and Atlanta. No Way Home serves as a crossover between the MCU and the previous Spider-Man films directed by Sam Raimi and Marc Webb. Several actors reprise their roles from those films, including previous Spider-Man actors Maguire and Garfield. The pair's involvement was the subject of wide speculation and numerous leaks despite the efforts of Sony, Marvel, and the cast to hide their appearances.
Spider-Man: No Way Home premiered at the Fox Village Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on December 13, 2021, and was theatrically released in the United States on December 17, as part of Phase Four of the MCU. The film received positive reviews from critics and grossed over $1.9 billion worldwide, surpassing its predecessor as the highest-grossing film released by Sony Pictures. It became the highest-grossing film of 2021, the sixth-highest-grossing film of all time, the highest grossing Spider-Man film, and set several other box office records, including those for films released during the COVID-19 pandemic. The film received a nomination for Best Visual Effects at the 94th Academy Awards, among numerous other accolades. An extended version of the film, subtitled The More Fun Stuff Version, had a global theatrical release in September 2022. A sequel is in development.
Plot[edit]
After Quentin Beck frames Peter Parker for his murder and reveals that Peter is Spider-Man,[a] the Department of Damage Control interrogates Peter; his girlfriend, Michelle "MJ" Jones-Watson; his best friend, Ned Leeds; and his aunt, May Parker. Lawyer Matt Murdock gets Peter's charges dropped, but the group grapples with negative publicity. After Peter's, MJ's, and Ned's MIT applications are rejected, Peter goes to the New York Sanctum to ask Dr. Stephen Strange for help. Strange starts casting a spell that would make everyone forget Peter is Spider-Man, but it is corrupted when Peter repeatedly requests alterations to let his loved ones retain their memories. Strange contains the corrupted spell.
At Strange's suggestion, Peter tries to convince an MIT administrator to reconsider MJ's and Ned's applications. He is attacked by Otto Octavius, who rips nanotechnology from Peter's Iron Spider suit. This bonds with Octavius's mechanical tentacles and allows Peter to take control of them. As Norman Osborn arrives and attacks, Strange teleports Peter back to the Sanctum and locks Octavius in a cell next to Curt Connors. Strange explains that the corrupted spell summoned people from other universes within the multiverse who know Spider-Man's identity. He orders Peter, MJ, and Ned to find and capture the others; they locate and retrieve Max Dillon and Flint Marko at a military research facility.
Osborn reclaims control of himself from his split Green Goblin personality and destroys the Goblin mask. He gets help from May until Peter retrieves him. While discussing their battles with Spider-Man, Osborn, Octavius, and Dillon realize they were pulled from their universes just before their deaths.[b] Strange prepares to reverse the contained spell and send the villains back to their respective universes, but Peter argues that they should first help each villain to possibly change their fates upon their return. When Strange refuses, Peter steals the spell, traps Strange in the Mirror Dimension, and takes the villains to Happy Hogan's apartment. He uses Stark Industries technology to cure Octavius. Before Peter can cure anyone else, his Spider-Sense is triggered and he realizes that the Goblin persona has retaken control of Osborn. Goblin convinces the other villains to betray Peter and fatally injures May as Dillon, Marko, and Connors escape. Before she dies, May tells Peter that "with great power, there must also come great responsibility".
Ned discovers that he can create portals using Strange's sling ring, which he and MJ use to try locate Peter. They instead find alternate versions of Peter who were also summoned from the villains' universes by Strange's spell and are nicknamed "Peter-Two" and "Peter-Three". The group finds this universe's Peter, nicknamed "Peter-One", who is mourning May and ready to send the villains home to die. The alternate Peters share stories of losing loved ones and encourage Peter-One to fight in May's honor. The three Peters develop cures for the villains and lure them to the Statue of Liberty. Peter-One and Peter-Two cure Connors and Marko while Octavius helps cure Dillon. Ned accidentally frees Strange from the Mirror Dimension. The Goblin unleashes the contained spell, which breaks the barriers between universes and begins pulling in countless others who know Peter's identity. Strange attempts to hold them off while an enraged Peter-One tries to kill the Goblin. Peter-Two stops him but gets stabbed by the Goblin. Peter-Three helps Peter-One inject the Goblin with his cure, restoring Osborn's sanity.
Peter-One realizes that the only way to protect the multiverse is to erase himself from everyone's memory and requests Strange do so while promising MJ and Ned that he will find them and remind them who he is. Strange reluctantly casts the spell, and everyone returns to their respective universes—including Eddie Brock,[c] who unknowingly leaves behind a piece of the Venom symbiote. Two weeks later, Peter visits MJ to reintroduce himself to her and Ned, but he decides against it. While mourning at May's grave, he has a conversation with Hogan and is inspired to carry on, making a new Spider-Man suit and resuming his vigilantism in New York City.
Rhys Ifans reprises his role as Dr. Curt Connors / Lizard, an Oscorp scientist from Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) who transformed into a large reptilian monster while trying to regrow his missing arm. Thomas Haden Church reprises his role as Flint Marko / Sandman, a small-time thief from Raimi's Spider-Man 3 who received an ability to transform into sand.[22] Both Ifans and Church returned to voice the characters, though footage at the end of the film when they revert to their human forms was archival footage from The Amazing Spider-Man and Spider-Man 3, respectively.[39] Watts served as a stand-in for Church on-set by providing motion-capture reference to the uncredited body double who physically replaced Church in the role.[40] Charlie Cox reprises his role as Matt Murdock from Marvel Television's Netflix series,[41] and Tom Hardy reprises his roles as Eddie Brock / Venom from Sony's Spider-Man Universe (SSU) in an uncredited cameo appearance in the mid-credits scene.[42]
Reprising their roles from previous MCU Spider-Man films are Angourie Rice as Betty Brant, Parker's classmate and Ned's ex-girlfriend;[43] Hannibal Buress as Coach Wilson, Midtown School of Science and Technology's gym teacher;[44] Martin Starr as Roger Harrington, Parker's academic decathlon teacher;[45] J. B. Smoove as Julius Dell, Parker's teacher;[46] J. K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson, the host of The Daily Bugle;[47][48] and Gary Weeks as Department of Damage Control (DODC) agent Foster.[49] Jake Gyllenhaal appears as Quentin Beck / Mysterio via archive footage from Far From Home.[50] Also appearing in the film are Paula Newsome as an MIT administrator,[45] Arian Moayed as DODC agent Cleary,[50] Mary Rivera as Ned's grandmother,[45] and Cristo Fernández as a bartender serving Brock.[42] Tom Holland's brother Harry Holland was set to make a cameo as a thief, but his scenes were cut from the original theatrical release.[51] Lexi Rabe, who portrayed Stark's daughter Morgan in Avengers: Endgame (2019), also had an appearance that was not included in the theatrical release.[52]
Marketing[edit]
In May 2020, Sony entered a promotional partnership with Hyundai Motor Group to showcase their new models and technologies in the film;[146] Hyundai later released a commercial, titled "Only Way Home", that was directed by Watts to promote the film and the Ioniq 5 electric-powered SUV (which appears in the film along with the Hyundai Tucson), with Holland and Batalon starring.[147] In late February 2021, Holland, Batalon, and Zendaya released three stills featuring their characters from the film alongside fake logos with the titles Spider-Man: Phone Home, Spider-Man: Home-Wrecker, and Spider-Man: Home Slice, respectively.[148] The film's official title was announced the next day with a video showing Holland, Batalon, and Zendaya leaving Watts's office (where they supposedly received the fake titles). Batalon and Zendaya note that Holland could not be trusted with the actual title since he had "accidentally" revealed the second film's title. The video ends on a whiteboard showing the film's true title, among various other titles featuring the word "home" that were apparently considered.[111] Jennifer Bisset of CNET suggested the fake titles and logos could represent the villains in the film, including Foxx's Electro and Molina's Doctor Octopus,[148] while TheWrap's Umberto Gonzalez called them funny "bait-and-switch fakes", and noted the Phone Home title referenced a line from E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982).[149] Gregory Lawrence of Collider felt the Home-Wrecker title could point to the film feeling like a 1990s thriller film, and said the fake titles were a "solid goof" to excite fans. He also compared the stills to the "terrifying/awe-inspiring wonder" of Steven Spielberg films and The Goonies (1985),[150] while Germain Lussier from io9 said they gave off "subtle National Treasure, Indiana Jones vibes".[151] In July 2021, Marvel revealed various toys and figurines for the film, including Funko Pops, Marvel Legends figures, and Lego sets.[152]
At the end of August 2021, when asked about the lack of trailer and official images or descriptions for the film, Feige stated that the film was not being "any more or less secret than any of our other projects" and reaffirmed that a trailer would be released before the film's premiere in theaters.[153] Though Sony handles the marketing for the film, their marketing team is in coordination with Disney's to ensure each knows when the other is releasing MCU-related content so it is a "win-win for everybody".[154] On August 22, an apparent leak of the first trailer was shared on social media,[155][156][157] which The Hollywood Reporter deemed "legitimate" after Sony worked to have various copies of the trailer taken down.[155] Adam Chitwood at Collider noted the built up online "fervor" surrounding the trailer and felt that it would not be able to "live up to the hype fans have built up in their minds". Chitwood continued that the other 2021 film releases from Marvel Studios had not seen a similar level of demand as No Way Home, pointing out that all of the rumored castings had positioned the film to be a "once-in-a-lifetime moviegoing experience" if they were accurate. He also wondered if Sony was wary of committing marketing that noted the film's December 2021 release date amid the resurgence of the COVID-19 Delta variant.[158]
The film's teaser trailer was officially released on August 23 during Sony's CinemaCon 2021 panel.[20] Entertainment Weekly's Devan Coggan noted that the trailer confirmed the multiverse's role in the film, including elements from the Raimi and Webb films,[6] while Ethan Anderton from /Film called the trailer "nothing short of thrilling" since it confirmed many of the previous rumors about the film.[159] Austen Goslin at Polygon conversely felt much of what had been rumored did not get revealed in the trailer, feeling that the rumors were either false or Marvel was still intending to keep them a secret.[160] Anderton's colleague Joshua Meyer called the trailer "a doozy... packed with jaw-dropping moments" and noted how the film would be adapting the "One More Day" comic book storyline;[161] Newby had previously noted the apparent adaption of "One More Day" and "One Moment in Time" storylines following the reveal of Cumberbatch's casting.[101] Many commentators noted the possible teases of Spider-Man villains Sandman and the Lizard in the trailer as an indication of the Sinister Six forming in the film.[47][120][162] Vinnie Mancuso at Collider was excited to see the return of Molina and the potential for Dafoe's involvement, but called it a "cheap pop" since it was doing "a disservice to the stories you're trying to tell in the present by reminding the audience how much better things used to be". He also felt the trailer played into "Marvel's ongoing reluctance to let Tom Holland's Spider-Man star in his own Spider-Man movies" since the trailer gave Parker "zero memorable moments" amongst all of its elements.[163] The trailer had 355.5 million global views in its first 24 hours, becoming the most viewed trailer in that time period. This surpassed the record of Avengers: Endgame (289 million views) and more than doubled the views for the Spider-Man: Far From Home trailer (135 million). It also generated the largest 24-hour social media conversation volume of all-time globally with 4.5 million mentions, made up of 2.91 million in the United States, and 1.5 million internationally; these both exceeded Avengers: Endgame's mentions (1.94 million in the United States, 1.38 million internationally).[164]
The second official trailer premiered at a fan screening at the Regal Sherman Oaks theater in Los Angeles on November 16, 2021.[165] Goslin felt the trailer "reveals the full extent of Marvel's Spider-Man multiverse",[166] while his colleague Matt Patches noted the missing appearance of Maguire's or Garfield's Spider-Man in the trailer but felt that it was "entirely possible the actors appear in No Way Home".[167] Jason Robbins of Collider was disappointed by the trailer, saying it was "what we expected, but less", since it just showed the returning villains and had no confirmation of Maguire or Garfield or "further insight into the multiverse".[48] Some commentators said parts of the trailer appeared as though Maguire and Garfield had been edited out of the footage, such as a shot in which the Lizard appears to be struck by an invisible force.[168][169] On November 24, Sony began releasing several videos on TikTok as part of their The Daily Bugle viral marketing campaign featuring Simmons and Rice.[170] In December 2021, the first minute of the film premiered exclusively on Late Night with Seth Meyers,[171] while a newsstand for The Daily Bugle was set up in New York City in partnership with Liberty Mutual to promote the film.[172] Other marketing partners include the video games Fortnite and PUBG Mobile, which featured special in-game Spider-Man themed props and costumes, Asus, whose Republic of Gamers (ROG) laptop is used by Ned in the film, Xiaomi, iQOO, Continental AG, and Tampico Beverages. The film had a total promotional marketing value of $202 million.[173]
Release[edit]
Theatrical[edit]
Spider-Man: No Way Home had its world premiere at Fox Village Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on December 13, 2021.[174][175] The film was released in the United Kingdom and Ireland on December 15,[176] and in the United States on December 17, where it opened in 4,325 theaters including in IMAX and other premium large formats.[177] It was previously set for release on July 16, 2021,[5] but was pushed back to November 5,[71] before it was further pushed back to the December 2021 date due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[76] It is part of Phase Four of the MCU.[178]
In August 2021, Sony and CJ 4DPlex announced a deal to release 15 of Sony's films over three years in the ScreenX format, including No Way Home.[179] In November 2021, the film was reported to be getting a theatrical release in China, making it the first Phase Four film to do so as Black Widow, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and Eternals were not released in the country,[180] though as of February 2022, there had been no release date,[181] in part because of diplomatic tensions between the country and the United States,[182][181] which stemmed in part from the U.S. diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.[182] In May 2022, Chinese authorities had reportedly requested for the Statue of Liberty to be removed from the film in order for it to be released in the country, but Sony refused.[183]
In March 2024, Sony announced that all live-action Spider-Man films will be re-released in theaters as part of Columbia Pictures' 100th anniversary celebration. Spider-Man: No Way Home will be re-released on June 3, 2024.[184]
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
Spider-Man: No Way Home grossed $814.1 million in the United States and Canada, and $1.108 billion in other territories for a worldwide total of $1.922 billion.[3][4] It is the highest-grossing film of 2021,[207] the seventh-highest-grossing film of all time,[208] the third-highest-grossing film in the United States and Canada,[209] the highest-grossing Spider-Man film, and the highest-grossing film released by Sony.[210] No Way Home is also the first film since Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) to gross over $1 billion,[211] becoming the third-fastest to reach that milestone and the first to do so during the COVID-19 pandemic.[212] It surpassed Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) to become Sony Pictures' highest-grossing film in North America.[210] Based on a final projected worldwide gross of $1.75 billion (a figure that was surpassed), Deadline Hollywood estimated the film's final net profit at $610 million, accounting for production budgets, marketing, talent participations, and other costs versus box office grosses and home media revenues.[213] It returned the global revenue of Cineworld, the world's second-largest cinema operator, to 88% of 2019 levels.[214]
In the United States and Canada, Spider-Man: No Way Home earned $121.85 million (which included $50 million from its Thursday night previews) on its opening day, becoming the second-highest opening film after Avengers: Endgame ($157.4 million) and the highest-opening film for a December release. In its opening weekend, it grossed $260 million, surpassing Avengers: Infinity War ($257.7 million) to become the second-highest domestic box office opening of all time.[215] As of January 9, 2022, an estimated 54.4 million people have seen Spider-Man: No Way Home in theaters in the United States and Canada.[216] The film remained at the top of the box office for three additional weekends until it was dethroned in its fifth weekend by Scream.[217][218][216][219] In its sixth weekend of release, Spider-Man: No Way Home reclaimed the top spot at the box office.[220] The film once again held onto the number one spot in its seventh weekend of release.[221] In March 2022, the film surpassed $800 million in the United States and Canada, becoming the third film to do so after Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) and Avengers: Endgame. Comscore Senior Media Analyst Paul Dergarabedian called the film "arguably the most important movie to the movie theater industry ever", as it helped show the viability of the movie theater industry and the benefit of theatrical release windows while the industry recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic.[198] The film dropped to the 11th spot on its 15th weekend.[222] Spider-Man: No Way Home returned to first place at the box office, earning $1.8 million on the first day of the release of The More Fun Stuff Version,[223] and went on to finish third with $6.5 million over the four-day Labor Day weekend, finishing behind Top Gun: Maverick and Bullet Train.[224] It was the highest opening weekend box office gross for a re-released MCU film, surpassing Avengers: Endgame ($5.5 million) and Spider-Man: Far From Home ($4 million).[225]
Spider-Man: No Way Home earned $43.6 million from 15 markets on its opening day, with Sony holding the best opening-day record in South Korea, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Italy, and Taiwan. In South Korea, the film grossed $5.28 million on its opening day, thereby beating Spider-Man: Far From Home's opening day in the country by over 11% and the biggest day-one figure for any film during the pandemic. In the United Kingdom, the film beat No Time to Die's opening box office record at £7.6 million ($10.1 million).[226] In India, the film's box office on its opening day was ₹320 million (equivalent to ₹360 million or US$4.5 million in 2023) to ₹345 million (equivalent to ₹390 million or US$4.8 million in 2023), beating Endgame and the Indian film Sooryavanshi (2021).[227] In its five-day opening weekend, the film grossed $340.8 million from 60 markets.[228] In Latin America as of January 16, 2022, it became the all-time highest-grossing film in Mexico ($72 million), and the second all-time highest in Brazil ($50.4 million), Central America ($12.6 million) and Ecuador ($7.9 million).[229] As of February 27, 2022, the film's largest markets are the United Kingdom ($127.3 million), Mexico ($76.2 million), Australia ($67.9 million), France ($65.2 million), and South Korea ($63.1 million).[230]
Future[edit]
By August 2019, a fourth film in the franchise was in development alongside No Way Home.[56] In February 2021, Holland said No Way Home was the final film under his contract but he hoped to continue playing Spider-Man in the future if asked.[262] That October, Holland said No Way Home was being treated as "the end of a franchise" that began with Homecoming, with any additional solo films featuring the MCU Spider-Man characters to be different from the first trilogy of films and feature a tonal change.[27] A month later, Holland said he was unsure if he should continue making Spider-Man films and felt he would have "done something wrong" if he was still portraying the character in his thirties. He expressed interest in a film focusing on the Miles Morales version of Spider-Man instead. Despite this, Pascal hoped to continue working with Holland on future Spider-Man films.[72] Later in November, Pascal said there were plans for another trilogy of Spider-Man films starring Holland, with work on the first of those about to begin,[132] though Sony did not yet have official plans for further MCU Spider-Man films.[263]
Feige confirmed in December that he and Pascal, along with Sony and Disney, were actively beginning to develop the story for the next Spider-Man film following Parker's "momentous decision" in No Way Home. He promised that the partnership between Sony and Disney would not break down again as it did during the development of No Way Home.[264] In April 2022, following Watts' exit as director of Marvel Studios' Fantastic Four in order to take a break from blockbuster films, Deadline Hollywood reported that Sony still expected Watts (along with Holland and Zendaya) to eventually return for the next MCU Spider-Man film.[265] Feige said in February 2023 that they had a story for the film with "big ideas" and that writers had begun work on it.[266] Pascal said at the end of May that the film was still in development but that work was put on hold because of the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike that began earlier that month, and that work would resume after the strike concluded.[267] By that time, Holland reiterated that the film was in early stages of development and that he had been involved in meetings about it, which were also put on hold because of the writers' strike.[268] In November 2023, Holland again noted he was part of discussions surrounding the film and reiterated his desire to return only if it would "do justice to the character".[269]
