The third film in MCU’s Spider-Man series, Spider-Man: No Way Home, was expected to be one of the most anticipated superhero movies, and if audience reaction is to be believed, it has managed to outdo itself.
The film opened with Rs 32.67 crore, trumping the opening day record haul of Akshay Kumar-starrer Sooryavanshi. The Rohit Shetty directorial was the previous biggest opener in India during the pandemic era. While Sooryavanshi, the first big film to release after the lockdown ended, collected Rs 26.50 crore on a Friday that was a holiday, Spider-Man achieved it on a weekday. Spider-Man 3 is expected to see a slight dip on Friday, but the weekend collections are expected to soar. According to reports, the film has already earned around Rs 35 crore from advance bookings for the weekend, which also include Thursday earnings to the tune of Rs 15-16 crore.
The English version of Spider-Man: No Way Home is the biggest crowd-puller in India, followed by Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu. Reportedly, the film recorded 100 per cent occupancy in 11 IMAX screens in India, which was earlier seen when the superheroes assembled for Avengers: End Game.
Earlier, as per a Forbes report, the film can even cross the $1 billion mark worldwide despite limited seating in cinemas in various countries. As the film released in multiple international markets ahead of its domestic release, it has already earned $43.6 million in 15 markets by Thursday. The Tom Holland-starrer set a pandemic-era opening day record in Korea on Wednesday. It also recorded the best Wednesday launch ever in the UK with $10.1 million. It also topped No Time To Die’s $6.6M debut, reported Deadline.
The film’s glowing reviews are only going to help the film get long legs in its theatrical journey. Not that reviews would have mattered. For the trailers and promos had teased a Spider-Man movie bigger than any in history with multiple characters from previous Spidey movies crossing over to MCU due to a failed ritual in the movie.
Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina, and Jamie Foxx, Thomas Haden Church, and Rhys Ifans will reprise their villainous roles from earlier Spider-Man movies.
Zendaya, Marisa Tomei, Jon Favreau, and Jacob Batalon also star. The buzz was higher than even Avengers: Endgame, as per a few estimates.
The Indian Express film critic Shalini Langer gave the film 3.5 stars. She said in her review: “With great power comes great responsibility, is the motto Peter Parker aka Spider-Man has lived by. But great power also has great consequences, and if this third instalment in the Spider-Man franchise was when you were hoping Tom Holland would grow up to that realisation, you are in for a disappointment. Yes, No Way Home is all that you have been hearing and talking about. Yes, it gives you bangs to the power of three for your buck. Yes, it is gratifying to indulge in your favourite Spider-Men films of the recent past once more. And yes, Holland’s Peter remains as likable and eager as ever.”
