After looking at how MCU's live-action films, I'm even more impressed by the animated installments. 2018's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse brought a take on the Spider-Man mythos that quickly became beloved, both in of providing Miles Morales his first big-screen story, and in of looking at the interconnected web of Spider-Man characters and variants through a major multiversal adventure.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse managed to follow up on this story in a way that only made it seem all the more exciting, even as it broadened the horizons of the series' multiverse to an almost staggering degree. Promisingly, this paid off for both films with some not inconsiderable box office results, which demonstrate the potential for more films to follow in the series' footsteps - especially given both Spider-Verse releases managed to make more than a range of other MCU movies and broader Marvel films with their respective financial takings.
Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse & Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse Are Both Notable Box Office Successes
Both Spider-Verse Movies Have Positive Box Office Results
While the financial results of the Spider-Verse movies do well to speak for the films themselves, it's fair to say that, when compared to the vast majority of Marvel's cinematic releases, they differ in a way that may have made them appear more of an initial risk in of what monetary gains they could bring back. With the vast majority of Marvel's movies being live-action releases - and the vast majority of the animated films Marvel has released not having cinematic releases - there wasn't much evidence to the idea of an animated superhero movie being a box office hit.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse proved any prospective concerns about whether the installment would prove both critically and commercially successful unfounded, though, as the story saw not only huge audience praise, but also a $373-393 million worldwide box office (as per The Numbers and Box Office Mojo). While this isn't a staggering number compared to some major live-action movies, it's also worth keeping in mind the reported production budget for the film was $90 million, meaning Into the Spider-Verse netted itself over four times what it cost to make with its box office results.
With the stage set by Into the Spider-Verse and audiences becoming more invested in the movies thanks to word of mouth and the film's later streaming release, the movie's 2023 sequel - Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse - did even better than the first. The second release brought in a worldwide box office result of $681-690 million (the story of Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, as the third movie in the series.
Given Across the Spider-Verse reportedly also had a budget of $100 million - though some other reports do place it higher - this also means the second installment in the Spider-Verse movie series appears to have made almost seven times what it cost in of its box office results, which is a relatively intense feat for any film to accomplish given the nature of the medium. When it's taken into that this isn't factoring in things like streaming or DVD sales - or merchandise sales, which could themselves bring in a healthy bit of cash - this number becomes even more considerable-looking.
The Spider-Verse Movies' Box Office Results Hold Up Against Marvel's Live-Action Films
The Two Currently Released Spider-Verse Movies Have Made More Than Plenty Of Live-Action Marvel Films
Though Marvel's live-action movies have seen some far greater box office highs in their time - with films like Avengers: Endgame and Avengers: Infinity War seeing worldwide box office results of $2.7 billion and $2 billion respectively (The Numbers) - there are a number of live-action Marvel releases that the Spider-Verse films have made more than in of box office results. In fact, there's actually quite a lot of key Marvel films that come under this category, with this list even including some notable movies from the MCU that are considered defining films for the franchise.
In of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, the film's box office made just more than 2016's Doctor Strange as its closest comparison point. This means it also made more than the first and second Thor movies, all three Ant-Man movies, the first two Iron Man movies, and a series of more recent releases in the MCU timeline, including Black Widow, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and Captain America: Brave New World. Across the Spider-Verse's box office is also higher than a number of X-Men movies, including Logan and X-Men: Apocalypse.
While Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse made a decent amount less than its successor, that doesn't stop its box office earnings from being higher than a range of MCU and other Marvel movies still. Into the Spider-Verse's close to $400 million results give it a higher worldwide box office than the current results for Thunderbolts*, Captain America: The First Avenger, and The Marvels. This also puts its box office above a range of other Marvel movies, including the original 2000 X-Men, both Hulk movies, and all three of the live-action Fantastic Four films, to name just a few.
The Spider-Verse Movies' Results Highlight The Promise Of Animated Marvel Movies
The Spider-Verse Films Show There Is A Place For Animated Movies In Theaters
Currently, almost every superhero movie to get a cinematic release is a live-action movie. The ion both Marvel and DC have demonstrated in of adapting their respective worlds into live-action and giving audiences a look at what a real-world version of their favorite heroes and villains could be like is by no means a bad thing, especially since it has resulted in some amazing movies and some major box office wins. However, the fact the art style of comics can be adapted more closely with animated movies means they hold a promising prospect that's seen little cinematic focus.
Both Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse demonstrate just how dazzling and striking an animated adaptation can be when given this kind of focus - and the movies have proved this approach has financial incentives for studios also, since their respective results are both pretty positive, and appear to be ultimately only growing with time if its currently trajectory is repeated with Spider-Man: Beyond The Spider-Verse. As such, hopefully the trilogy can encourage the superhero genre to lean more into looking at the unique potential of animated movies with future releases.
Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse
- Release Date
- December 6, 2018
- Runtime
- 117 minutes
- Director
- Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman
Cast
Shameik MoorePeter B. Parker (voice)
Miles Morales (voice)
WHERE TO WATCH
- Writers
- Phil Lord, Rodney Rothman
- Producers
- Avi Arad, Christina Steinberg, Christopher Miller, Phil Lord, Brian Michael Bendis
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