Don’t expect more Spider-Man spinoff movies from Sony anytime soon

Here we go again – everyone loves a Spider-Man movie. Globally, Spider-Man: Brand New Day has just raked in the sort of money that most studios would sell an organ for: $932 million and counting. Audiences are lining up for Peter Parker as if he owes them money. Meanwhile, those Sony spinoff films – you know, the ones that stuff the Spider-Man universe with everyone but Spider-Man – are being quietly shuffled into a dusty back drawer. It looks like Sony has finally admitted what the rest of us have known for a while: we're not clamouring for a Morbius sequel.

Brand New Day pulled in a staggering $932 million worldwide during its debut.

Let's be blunt: Sony's spider-adjacent offerings haven't exactly been hits outside of the Venom movies. Sure, Tom Hardy eating lobsters in a fish tank is good value, but Morbius, Madame Web, and Kraven the Hunter have been the cinematic equivalent of a flat pint. Plodding scripts, critical hammerings, and box office numbers that trailed off a cliff – Sony's non-Spidey Marvel catalogue felt more like an obligation than entertainment.

No Future For Spinoffs

Speaking in a Variety interview about the monster takings for Brand New Day, Sony boss Tom Rothman didn't sugar-coat what happened to those projects. Asked about the failed offshoots, Rothman broke it down:

Ultimately, the audience wasn't satisfied enough with them. Whether that's a fair assessment of those movies, who knows. That's howling into the wind. The audience is the boss, and they didn't respond. It's as simple as that.

No room for artistic defence there – if punters don't turn up, that's the end of it. So, how about any more spinoff films in the pipeline? Rothman confirmed there's nothing cooking. No secret scripts, no “Sony-Marvel Universe” quietly hatching somewhere. And judging by the studio's mood, you probably shouldn't hold your breath for Cloak and Dagger: Origins or whatever.

Box Office Records and Theatre Hype

There is, however, plenty for Sony to be pleased about elsewhere. Between Brand New Day and The Odyssey, the American box office just had its most lucrative weekend ever: a colossal $430 million in ticket sales across the board. Rothman, naturally, sounded over the moon:

What happened is miraculous. '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.

If you're wondering about the film itself, our mate Chris Bumbray described Brand New Day as a much more grown-up take on the Spidey formula, rather than a rehash of the all-the-Spider-Men-on-one-screen antics from No Way Home. Not trying to outdo the last nostalgia-fest is a clever move, frankly.

• Spider-Man: Brand New Day: Out now, crushing the global box office
• Venom trilogy: The only Sony spinoffs people actually saw by choice
• Morbius, Madame Web, Kraven: Commercial disasters, critical duds – no sequels planned
• Sony: Officially standing down on awkward superhero extras, at least for now