“So I guess movies aren’t dead after all?”
That’s the understated reaction from Tom Rothman, chairman of Sony Pictures, after “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” obliterated box office expectations. The comic book adventure, starring Tom Holland as Marvel’s web-slinging hero, ignited to $360 million domestically and a mind-blowing $932 million globally, the biggest domestic and second-largest global debut in history. And the latest Spidey entry, with help from Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey,” powered the largest collective weekend of all time. In other words, movies are back in the center of culture. Hallelujah!
“What happened is miraculous,” says Rothman, who plans to toast the film’s thunderous start with chocolate ice cream. “‘Spider-Man’ is uniting people across cultures and ages. People can piss on theatrical all they want, but that’s one thing that only movies — and movie theaters — can do.”
Sure, there’s been plenty of doom and gloom about the health of the theatrical business in the wake of two destructive forces: COVID and the 2023 labor strikes. But this summer is poised to be the best since the pandemic, and all kinds of hits — from “The Devil Wears Prada 2” and “Toy Story 5” to “Obsession” and “Backrooms” — have restored Hollywood’s confidence that people actually, really, truly love the big screen.
