For years, we’ve been hearing that superhero fatigue is a very real thing – and while that’s definitely true to a certain extent – Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse has joined Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in proving that the sentiment only applies to bad movies.
Using two recent examples as the counterpoint to the argument, Shazam! Fury of the Gods wound up as one of the biggest box office bombs in the history of the genre, with many deciding to ignore a comic book blockbuster that didn’t provide enough of a reason to pay for a ticket to see it on the big screen. Meanwhile, it didn’t take Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania long to establish a reputation as one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s weakest installments, and it suffered as a result.
On the other side of the coin, James Gunn’s Vol. 3 wrapped up a trilogy that audiences had become massively invested in over the course of a decade, while Across the Spider-Verse has secured the exact same instant classic reputation as its predecessor. Not only that, but a slew of impressive milestones right off the bat have showcased once more why good filmmaking always wins in the end.
As well as scoring the highest-grossing opening day of the year so far, the web-slinging sequel notched a three-day haul of over $125 million, which is almost 250 percent ahead of Into the Spider-Verse. In addition, it’s also one of the top-rated titles in the history of Letterboxd, while also currently ranking as the highest-ranked superhero blockbuster on IMDb.
It sounds painfully obvious, but bubbles don’t burst when phenomenal features are leading the charge.
