Entertainment
Max Viewers Just Made This 133-Minute Superhero Franchise-Starter Their #1 Movie
Nearly five years after his last big-screen appearance, Tom Holland‘s web-slinger is finally swinging back into action this year with Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Releasing on July 31, the film has been mostly shrouded in mystery for now, though it’ll see Peter Parker reintroduce himself to the world after having Doctor Strange erase everyone’s memories of him in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Most of the excitement thus far has instead come from the casting. Both Zendaya and Jacob Batalon will be back as Peter’s girlfriend MJ and best friend Ned Leeds, but it also features the big-screen debut of Jon Bernthal as The Punisher and the live-action debut of Marvin Jones III as Tombstone, alongside the return of Mark Ruffalo as The Hulk and three high-profile new additions in Stranger Things star Sadie Sink, The Bear‘s Liza Colón-Zayas, and Severance standout Tramell Tillman.
One other inclusion will also harken back to the beginning of Spidey’s MCU journey — Michael Mando as Mac Gargan, aka Scorpion. He first appeared as an associate of Adrian Toomes/The Vulture (Michael Keaton) in Spider-Man: Homecoming back in 2017, though he may have an even bigger role to play this time around. Fittingly, that first solo film for Holland, which kicked off a pivotal reboot of the character for the cinematic universe after his appearance in Captain America: Civil War, is now getting a lot of attention ahead of Brand New Day‘s arrival. Viewers are revisiting Peter Parker’s origins en masse, though not on the platform you’d expect.
On HBO Max, Spider-Man: Homecoming is currently at the top of the platform’s worldwide film charts, beating out more recent titles like the I Know What You Did Last Summer reboot and Death of a Unicorn, as well as older hits like Michael Mann‘s Blackhat. Most impressive, however, is the fact that it’s doing so without being available for U.S. subscribers. The Jon Watts-directed feature instead accomplished the feat by simply hitting #1 in 20 different countries. It’s a testament to the enduring popularity of Spidey and Homecoming in particular, which is still considered among the MCU’s best efforts from the Infinity Saga and a standout superhero coming-of-age story.
What Happened in ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’?
For a refresher, Homecoming saw Peter returning to New York with a newfound spring in his step after getting to fight with the Avengers in Civil War. Living with his Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), he starts coming into his own as Spider-Man under the guidance of genius tech billionaire Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), all while trying to go about his normal daily routine as a teenager. When the Vulture emerges having profited immensely on the creation and sale of weaponry made with salvaged Chitauri technology, Parker wants to use the opportunity to prove himself as a hero. Toomes proves to be a dangerous foe for the young wallcrawler, though, putting Peter’s powers to the test in an effort to save everything he holds dear. Fleshing out the feature was a stacked supporting cast, including Jon Favreau, Gwyneth Paltrow, Donald Glover, Laura Harrier, Tony Revolori, Bokeem Woodbine, and more. At the time, it was among the top-five highest-grossing films in the MCU ever, earning $880.9 million at the box office.
Spider-Man: Homecoming is now streaming on HBO Max. Stay tuned here at Collider for more on the biggest streaming success stories throughout the year.
- Release Date
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July 7, 2017
- Runtime
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133 minutes
- Producers
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Avi Arad, Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Matt Tolmach, Patricia Whitcher, Stan Lee, Victoria Alonso, Amy Pascal