“Spider-Man: No Way Home” hits U.S. theaters on Friday – just 3 days from now. Originally planned to be released on July 16th, then pushed back to November 5th, the BIG DAY is finally almost upon us.
The film’s teaser trailer had 355.5 million global views within 24 hours and, when ticket sales were finally launched on November 29th, both Fandango and AMC sites couldn’t handle the volume and crashed. Box office projections are a bit of a moving target: $190-$250 million is expected to fill the coffers this coming weekend, with total domestic (U.S.) box office sales in the range of $520-$690 million – that’s not counting the rest of the world!
This is the 3rd film in the Tom Holland-led trilogy, which also included “Spider-Man: Homecoming” (2017) and “Spider-Man: Far From Home” (2019).
“Spider-Man: Far From Home’s” second trailer hit 135 million global views at the 24-hour mark and went on to deliver Sony’s largest-grossing title in the Studio’s history: a hefty $1.131 billion.
No wonder there has been so much corporate politicking about the franchise. Marvel licensed Spider-Man movie rights to Sony for years – long before Disney acquired the comic book empire in 2009. In 2019, Sony and Disney’s Marvel Studios briefly split-up after the release of “Spider-Man: Far From Home”, putting Spider-Man’s future within the Disney-owned Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) in jeopardy. Eventually, the conflict was resolved, with Disney taking home more of the profits, but also shouldering more of the costs.
The Star: Tom Holland
Let’s focus on Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man.
British actor Tom Holland is only 25 years old. Bullied in school for being a dancer (let’s hope those days are over for everyone), Tom briefly considered being a carpenter. Practicing street dancing, he was spotted by a local headmaster and invited to audition for Billy Elliot (on stage). After 8 gruelling auditions and 2 further years of intense training, he debuted as Billy’s best friend, eventually taking on the lead role.
Fast forward another few years, with more experience under his belt, and Holland was cast as teenage Peter Parker (Spider-Man), wowing the talent-scouting team with his charisma, range and ability to effortlessly perform a standing backflip.
“I was in my bed scrolling through Instagram. It had been about a month since my audition. And Marvel just posted a photo saying go to our website and find out who the next Spider-Man is. I went on the Marvel website on my computer and there it was: The new Spider-Man is Tom Holland. I went ballistic – like absolutely nuts.” (Tom Holland, Spider-Man)
Maybe Instagram shouldn’t be introducing teen take-a-break reminders and giving parents more control of children's Instagram account use. These new features would have potentially screwed up this incredible moment … though I think learning haphazardly of the outcome of an audition via Instagram is just as bad as Better.com CEO Vishal Garg using Zoom to collectively fire 900 employees on December 1st. There are some things that are just better when delivered in a more human manner.
GQ has written a great cover story about Tom Holland. Oliver Franklin-Wallis and Sharif Hamza were put on the assignment – can’t beat that talent or budget, so we’ll let the acclaimed international monthly men’s magazine speak for itself.
What contribution can I make to the Holland discussion? As an ex-Montrealer I speak French, so I’d like to poke a little fun at Tom. He’s been having some trouble pronouncing the word “croissant”. Take a look at this clip, and then see how “croissant” should be properly said. My favorite croissants in the world (including Paris) are created by French Pastry Chef Jean-Luc Soulabaille 6 days a week and can be found in an unassuming strip mall on the outskirts of Toronto: Patisserie D’Or. Yes, that’s right: Toronto. Ditch a visit to the iconic CN Tower or forego a Leafs, Blue Jays or Raptors game, and head right to Patisserie D’Or any day of the week except Monday.
Spider-Man: No Way Home
In the final moments of “Spider-Man: Far From Home”, Peter Parker’s secret identity was revealed to the world. Now the big question is: what happens next?
The plot of “Spider-Man: No Way Home” has been cloaked in secrecy, which, to no surprise, has created much speculation. As COVID-19 has dragged its heels seemingly forever, we’ve all been wondering how the plot will unfold in this 3rd element of the trilogy.
What is the meaning of the title? How will it shape the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe?
Which guest characters from previous Spider-Man movies will appear? Tobey Maguire? Andrew Garfield? We know that Benedict Cumberbatch is confirmed, as are Willem Dafoe (Green Goblin), Alfred Molina (Doc Ock) and Jamie Foxx (Electro).
Will the Spider-Man universe be transformed into a Metaverse?
And last, but not least, will Holland say goodbye to Spider-Man at the end of his contract? Will he take up backpacking, clubbing or golfing instead? Will he become the next James Bond? One thing is sure, Tom Holland is going somewhere. This young man is on fire.
Now challenge yourself and your friends to our Spider-Man Quiz of the Day, by downloading Quizefy from the app store if you haven’t already done so, then see how much you know and Strut Your Smart. Our Spider-Man Quiz is only available today, then it disappears. We’ll be back again every Tuesday with a special blog posted at www.quizefy.com, along with a new trivia quiz on the same topic as the blog. Don’t forget to follow Quizefy on social media, so we can remind you of the upcoming blog and quiz content.