Like a true Web Slinger, Spider-Man has had his ups and downs. And he just reached greater heights than any other blockbuster.

We now live in a world where Spider-Man: Brand New Day has dethroned Star Wars: The Force Awakens as the highest grossing film of all time domestically. It’s not likely to beat Avatar or Avengers: Endgame worldwide, but that’s still an impressive feat to get the closest of any film in history to $1 billion in the U.S. and Canada. Not accounting for inflation, of course.

The two most recent Spider-Man films are among the top 10 highest grossing films worldwide. And they’re both in the top 5 domestically. How did that happen?

The Path of Spider-Man’s Success

Let’s start by going through a little history of Spider-Man on the big screen. The character started off promisingly in 2002’s Spider-Man. That was the first big blockbuster after 9/11, and it helped audiences stand up and cheer again. The trilogy reached its apex with Spider-Man 2 and then failed to top that effort with Spider-Man 3. The 2012 reboot The Amazing Spider-Man took off in a new direction, but The Amazing Spider-Man 2 killed the momentum. So far, none of those films had gotten over $1 billion worldwide, though they were all box-office successes.

Then came the Marvel Cinematic Universe era of the character. He was recast and given a memorable cameo in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War. That was followed by Spider-Man: Homecoming, which did respectably well. Then the character returned for more MCU adventures in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Spider-Man: Far from Home was the first Spider-Man-headlined film to crack $1 billion.

Everything changed with 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home. That was arguably the first huge box-office smash following the COVID-19 pandemic. It gave audiences a reason to return to theaters. And it brought all three Spider-Man actors together for one more big hurrah.

Spider-Man: No Way Home grossed $1.9 billion worldwide, which was close to the previous two films’ combined gross: Spider-Man: Homecoming’s $881 million and Spider-Man: Far from Home’s $1.1 billion.

I really enjoyed that third film in the Tom Holland series, and I wasn’t sure if the next film would be able to top it. As it turns out, it could and it did. Without the incredible amounts of nostalgia in the previous film. Spider-Man: Brand New Day has grossed about $2.5 billion.

What Does This Mean?

So now it’s commonplace for Spider-Man films to earn more than $1 billion, and they’re even capable of doubling that. I haven’t seen Spider-Man: Brand New Day yet, though I’ve heard nothing but good things about it.

I really enjoy Spider-Man movies. But even I am surprised by how popular the latest films in that series have become. There are few universally beloved film series anymore, so maybe the reason for this success is that there is a lot of pent-up desire to watch something of substance. I suppose that’s what makes Christopher Nolan films, Dune, and other exceptions so, well, exceptional.

We want to root for heroes and hiss at bad guys. The list of the highest grossing films represents films that touch the culture and have something important we need. They’re not necessarily the best movies ever made, but they are the best at unifying people. Many of these films are reflections of previous work, like remakes of Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King and the many other IPs on the list.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s triumph comes because people love what came before it as much as they love it. We want to hear more of this story. That’s an incredible compliment to everyone who has worked to build up this character and his mythos. Of course, it’s not enough to have a beloved character if his or her current film doesn’t get people excited. Just ask Indiana Jones, Joker, Snow White, Captain America, etc.

Here is my opinion on why Spider-Man: Brand New Day is on top. Two times Spider-Man has swung in right after traumatic events in the real world. People return to this character because they want that feeling of comfort and catharsis. We’re suffering, and we want a reminder of normalcy. That’s what Spider-Man represents to us. He’s just a normal kid dealing with extraordinary circumstances. He doesn’t always win, but we cheer for him nonetheless because we see ourselves in his plight. Hopefully his victory is a signal of the kind of stories we will see more of in the future.

This is the Deja Reviewer bidding you farewell until we meet again.

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