‘Venom’ success explained: Sony’s Spider-Man universe here to stay

“Venom”
Sony

• Despite abysmal reviews, “Venom” is a hit with audiences and
  has grossed over $500 million worldwide.
• The movie is Sony’s first jump back into the Spider-Man
  universe without Marvel Studios in its corner since “The Amazing
  Spider-Man 2” misfired in 2014.
• Box-office experts agree that the movie’s success is no
  fluke, and is the rebound Sony needed.
• “If they consistently make films audiences want to see,
  Disney will have to buy Sony to get Spider-Man back,” said
  Exhibitor Relations senior box-office analyst Jeff
  Bock. 
• Sony has multiple Spider-Man projects in development, and
  a “Venom” sequel is highly likely.

Before Sony’s latest foray into the world of Spider-Man, “Venom,”
hit theaters a month ago, there was worry the studio might have a
flop on its hands.

Critics couldn’t publish their takes on the movie until October
2, just two days before “Venom” would be screened to audiences
during early Thursday night showings. Such a short span of time
between a film’s review embargo and its release is usually a sign
of trouble, and it was: critics tore into the movie,
which ultimately scored a 27% among critics on Rotten Tomatoes.

Sony couldn’t afford another misfire after “The Amazing
Spider-Man 2” failed to generate excitement in 2014. If “Venom”
bombed, it probably wouldn’t have spelled defeat for its
“Spider-Man” universe going forward (it’s still Sony’s biggest
cinematic property).

“If it had failed, there is a chance Sony would have
definitely returned to the bargaining table with Disney,” Jeff
Bock, Exhibitor Relations senior box-office analyst, told
Business Insider. “Now, that’s up in the air.”

Fortunately for Sony, “Venom” is a hit.

The Tom Hardy-starring movie has scored over $500 million
worldwide with a $100 million production budget. It has an 87%
audience score on Rotten Tomatoes from 32,000 ratings, and a B+
Cinemascore. It broke the box-office record for an October
opening weekend with $80 million after estimates put it in
the $65-75 million range.

The success of “Venom” means Sony’s “Spider-Man” cinematic
universe, which once looked like it was on life support, is here
to stay.

“The Amazing Spider-Man
2”
Courtesy Columbia
Pictures

Sony strikes a deal with Marvel Studios

In 2015, Sony struck a deal with Marvel Studios in which
Spider-Man could be introduced in the Marvel Cinematic Universe
while Sony still maintained distribution rights and creative
control. That means Sony could still make films based on the 900
Marvel Spider-Man characters it owns film rights to, while Marvel
and its parent company Disney could use the character in its own
film universe.

The deal came after Sony’s “The Amazing Spider-Man 2,” the sequel
to its 2012 reboot, floundered at the box office. It raked in
just over $200 million in the US, barely more than its production
budget, after opening to a disappointing $91 million. Most of its
money came from international box office, which isn’t new for a
blockbuster, but it wasn’t enough to fulfill Sony’s grander
Spider-Man vision to compete with Marvel after “The Avengers”
made $1.5 billion worldwide two years prior.

“Everyone had high hopes for this,” a production assistant on
“Amazing Spider-Man 2,” who wished to remain anonymous to protect
future business relationships, told Business Insider. “They were
projecting for it to at least make more money than the first
one.”

“The Amazing Spider-Man 2” made less domestically and globally
than its sequel. Then the Sony hack happened in November 2014, in
which WikiLeaks released a massive amount of private Sony emails,
data, and files. Internal communications about “reinvigorating” the
“Spider-Man” franchise and potentially having Marvel
Studios produce were revealed.

It all forced Sony to reevaluate its planned
Spider-verse, which would have included a “Sinister Six”
villain-centric spin-off that “Amazing Spider-Man 2” attempted to
set up. Instead, Sony worked with Marvel Studios to deliver the
MCU’s “Spider-Man: Homecoming” starring Tom Holland last year,
which was a hit.

“Sony just wants to make a buck, and they don’t mind throwing
s— at the wall to make a buck,” the former production assistant
said.

“Venom”
Sony

‘Venom’ helps Sony rebound

If you asked critics, “Venom” was another case of “throwing s—
at the wall.” But audiences have thought differently, and
box-office experts agree that the movie’s success is no accident.

Sony “took a calculated risk
with 
Venom
, and it’s now going to
be a series,” Bock said. “It seems Disney needs Sony’s Spider-man
more than Sony needs Disney … If they consistently make
films audiences want to see, Disney will have to buy Sony to get
Spider-Man back.”

“A half-billion dollars in revenue for
‘Venom’ worldwide proves that this is no fluke and
despite a critical drubbing, the film has found great favor
with audiences who are fully vested in the ‘Spider-Man’ brand as
well as their embracing of Tom Hardy,” comScore senior
analyst Paul Dergarabedian told Business Insider.

What’s next for Sony’s Spider-Man plans?

The animated “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” hits
theaters this December. The “Homecoming” follow-up with Marvel
Studios, “Spider-Man: Far From Home,” comes to theaters in July
2019. Apart from the MCU, Sony is developing multiple
spin-offs like “Venom,” including one starring Jared Leto as
the vampire Morbius, and one featuring frequent Spider-Man love
interest, Black Cat. There’s
even the possibility that Spider-Man himself could show up,
and whether it would be Tom Holland’s MCU version or someone else
remains to be seen.

Oh, and a “Venom” sequel is highly likely.

“There is strong interest in a sequel which will no doubt
happen given its success,” BoxOfficeAnalyst.com’s Doug Stone
said.

READ MORE: What you need to know about the
Spider-Man villain who appears in the ‘Venom’ after-credits
scene

Of course, there is the possibility that Sony doesn’t ride
this momentum, and its “Amazing Spider-Man 2” problems happen all
over again.

Ken Miyamoto, a former Sony story analyst and script reader
in the 2000s who is now an industry blogger for Screencraft, told Business Insider that Sony will
“clearly fast track these titles in hopes of replicating
the box office success of ‘Venom.’ And I just don’t see it
working with those characters. Nobody cares.”

“If you push things too fast to try and emulate the MCU to create
connected multi-franchises, you’re going to suffer the same fate
you did before,” he added.

But for now, the success of “Venom,” and the likely success of
“Into the Spider-Verse” next month, have positioned Sony well and
changed its balance of power with Disney. Beyond Spider-Man, Sony
is developing a film it hopes to turn into another
comic-book based cinematic universe: “Bloodshot,” starring
Vin Diesel and produced by “Fast and Furious” franchise producer
Neal Moritz.

“This is just the beginning of Sony’s reemergence as a
studio of box office distinction,” Bock said. “They’re not giving
it up without a fight.”

If you have insight into the success of “Venom” and
Sony’s Spider-Man plans, email the author at
[email protected].