The friendly neighborhood Spider-Man couldn’t stay away from theaters for too long.
Coming on the heels of his emotional appearance in “Avengers: Endgame,” Tom Holland’s web-slinging hero is headed back to multiplexes over the July 4 holiday weekend for “Spider-Man: Far From Home.” According to early tracking, Sony’s Marvel Comic entry is expected to earn $154 million during its first six days of release. This year, Independence Day falls on a Thursday, so the studio is getting a jump by opening the film on Tuesday.
That number could fluctuate over the next three weeks until the comic-book adventure arrives on the big screen, though it looks to be a boost on its 2017 predecessor, “Spider-Man: Homecoming.” The first Holland-led installment opened with $117 million, ultimately earning $334 million in North America and a mighty $880 million worldwide. The follow-up cost $160 million to produce.
“Spider-Man: Far From Home,” a direct sequel to “Homecoming,” is the 23rd film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It follows Peter Parker who, while on a school trip to Europe, gets recruited by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) to face threats from an alternate dimension. The upcoming Spidey chapter picks up after the events of “Avengers: Endgame,” the box office behemoth that is now the second-biggest movie of all time with $2.73 billion in global ticket sales. Zendaya, Cobie Smulders, Jon Favreau, and Marisa Tomei all return for “Spider-Man: Homecoming.”
Audiences have largely given sequels the cold shoulder this summer, with “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” and “Dark Phoenix” failing to ignite at the box office. Exhibitors are hoping that a little superhero stamina can help revert that trend and boost ticket sales.