Godzilla gave his best, along with Shang-Chi, James Bond, Venom and the “Fast and Furious” crew. But the box office startup after pandemic shutdowns — the re-mastering of culture — has taken much longer than Hollywood envisioned.
It finally happened Thursday, when “Spider-Man: No Way Home” hit theaters exclusively.
According to Sony Pictures Entertainment, which financed and produced the film in partnership with Disney-owned Marvel Studios, “No Way Home” collected $50 million from Thursday’s “preview” screenings beginning at 3 p.m. It was the third-highest preview result in Hollywood history books, behind “Avengers: Endgame” ($60 million) and “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” ($57 million).
For the weekend in North America, “No Way Home,” which received sensational reviews, could reach over $150 million in ticket sales. According to Comscore, no film has had more than $90 million in opening weekend sales since “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” in 2019.
Directed by Jon Watts, “No Way Home” marks the end of a trilogy starring Tom Holland as Peter Parker and Zendaya as MJ, his plucky romantic counterpart. But the $200 million sequel also represents the culmination of nearly 20 years of Spider-Man movies — eight in all — as it draws characters unseen since 2007’s “Spider-Man 3” and “The Amazing Spider-Man 2.” in 2014.
Since its inception, two people have been involved in the franchise in one way or another: Amy Pascal and Kevin Feige. A top film manager at Sony from 1999 to 2015, Pascal was responsible for the first five live-action Spider-Man films; she produced the last three. Feige worked on the early Spider-Man films in various capacities, initially in relative obscurity, and was a producer on the latter three in his role as president of Marvel Studios.
The two spoke to me via video from their homes in Los Angeles. These are edited excerpts from the conversation, including – beware – some “No Way Home” spoilers.
Let’s start with an easy one. Kevin, explain your future Marvel Cinematic Universe roadmap for Spider-Man. I want details.
FEIGE What?
What’s the next MCU crossover movie? “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”, coming in May? Maybe that “Fantastic Four” reboot? Don’t say “I don’t know” because I know you know.
FEIGE He’ll show up sometime. The when and where, of course, is the fun part — and the part we’re not talking about.
What about the next standalone Spider-Man movie? Amy, you said last month that you and Kevin – Sony and Disney – are teaming up on three more, which seemed to surprise the studios.
Explore the Marvel Cinematic Universe
The popular franchise of superhero movies and television series continues to grow.
PASCAL We are producers, so we always believe that everything will be fine. I enjoy working with Kevin. We have a great partnership, along with Tom Rothman, who leads Sony and has played an important role, a great leader with great ideas. I hope it lasts forever.
That sounds like a classic Hollywood walk back.
FEIGE Amy and I and Disney and Sony are talking about – yes, we’re actively starting to develop where the story is going next, which I’m just saying outright because I don’t want fans to go through a divorce trauma like what happened after “Far Van Home” [the previous Spider-Man movie, in 2019]. That won’t happen this time.
PASCAL At the end of the movie we just made, you see Spider-Man make an important decision, one you’ve never seen him make before. It’s a sacrifice. And that gives us a lot to work with for the next movie.
This movie, “No Way Home,” pulls major characters — and stars — from the franchise stretching back 20 years. How are you ever going to top it?
PASCAL Not every Spider-Man movie will have a multitude of characters. That approach suited this one.
You can’t think of surpassing yourself in terms of spectacle. Otherwise, movies just get bigger and bigger for no reason, and it’s not a good result. But we always want to try to outdo ourselves in terms of quality and emotion. Kevin and I never want to lose sight of one thing: Peter Parker. That he’s a normal kid. That he is orphaned again and again. That he is a teenager so everything in his life is on a higher level and everything is more important than anything. That he is nourished by goodness and guilt. That he pursues a greater cause, and that he is vilified by the press.
What was the biggest challenge producing “No Way Home”?
FEIGE Get everyone to agree with you on the cool, big idea. “Hey, we have an idea. Would you like to sign up and play in this movie.” “Cool! Can I read the script?” “No.” That was the hardest part, and that’s where Amy, who calls anyone anywhere at any time, is a master producer at making things.
I read somewhere, Amy, that you FaceTimed Tom Holland while he was in the bathtub. Do you have any screenshots so I can verify that information?
That’s true. And no, I don’t share.
Who was the last ‘No Way Home’ star to sign up?
FEIGE Not who you think. It’s not worth talking about, but not about who you think.
What was your pitch to the actors who were skeptical?
PASCAL That these wouldn’t be money-making cameos. The parts were real. That I was there the first time and that I would be there again, that I have too much respect for them and for all the work we’ve done together over the years.
Why weren’t Kirsten Dunst and Emma Stone, the female protagonists from previous Spider-Man movies, brought back for this one?
FEIGE When people see the movie, they will understand. It’s about the story. It was a great goal for all of us – Amy and Jon and our writers, Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers – that Peter Parker’s senior year in high school was not wasted amid the madness engendered by his encounter with Doctor Strange. That could have easily happened. And that’s why there aren’t another 20 people in the movie.
Speaking of women, are we ever going to see a woman with super powers next to Spider-Man? Isn’t there a storyline in the comics where MJ gets to try out the Iron Spider armor?
PASCAL Never say never. [She offers a coy smile.]
FEIGE We have many storylines, Brooks! A lot by story lines. It comes down to these great, great actors. I think your question is less about what MJ did in the comics and more about “Zendaya is really great. Can we see more of her?”
Tobey and Kirsten. Emma and Andrew. Tom and Zendaya. Why do all your protagonists do? eventually fall for each other in real life? It can’t just be the spandex.
PASCAL I took Tom and Zendaya aside when we first cast them and gave them a talk. Don’t go there – just don’t. Try not to. I gave the same advice to Andrew and Emma. It can only complicate things, you know? And they all ignored me.
Can you give Tom some advice from me? Don’t lie to reporters! In interviews over the past year, he said: Tobey and Andrew didn’t come back.
PASCAL Well, he can’t reveal the things that appear in the movie. You wouldn’t expect him to do that. Forgive him.
One last question for you: what is the truth about how the Pascal-Feige collaboration began? It’s my understanding that you, Amy, who was running Sony at the time, made the sequel to 2014’s “Amazing Spider-Man,” which was quite wobbly. And that you called Kevin and said, “Help.”
PASCAL That is the truth. I called Kevin and said, “Help.” And then he came to my office for lunch and said, “I know how I can help you.” And then I threw a sandwich at him.
FEIGE She said, “I really want you to help with this next movie. We’ve got these great ideas for the next one. It’s great stuff.” And I said, ‘I’m not good at that – giving advice and leaving. The only way I can help is if we just make the movie for you.”
Cut to the flying BLT or whatever it was.
FEIGE It was a pretty quiet sandwich. I don’t remember what kind. But she didn’t like that suggestion.
PASCAL And then Kevin called me and came to the house and said, ‘I have an idea. What if Tony Stark makes Peter’s suit?” And as soon as he said that, I understood the possibilities of what we could do together. To have Iron Man and Spidey in the same world, a world that was more rooted in technological innovation – the new suit – and less in medical experimentation, where we were previously locked in, felt so much more modern.
It took a lot of work. But look at the results. Pretty fantastic, right?
