Spider-Man Helps Continue Box Office Revival

**SPEAKER_1** (0:00)
For more insight today, we are joined by Shawn Robbins, Director of Movie Analytics at Fandango. Shawn, great to have you with us again. I mean, Spider-Man has already set some major records, and so what does that level of demand really tell you about the strength of this overall franchise today?

**Shawn Robbins** (0:16)
Thanks for having me back. Yeah, this has been such a big story for the movie industry. Spider-Man crushing the opening weekend box office record last week, $360 million domestically, the biggest opening ever. It's the second fastest movie in history to hit $1 billion worldwide only behind Avengers Endgame.
There's a lot driving this right now, and it certainly proves that once again, Spidey is always at the heart of pop culture.

**SPEAKER_3** (0:45)
When you look at these names or these franchises, to me, I'm always going to remember the ones back from the early 2000s with Tobey Maguire, just because that's just nostalgic for me. But I hadn't realized, although it seems to me maybe almost like retreads of things we've already done, it just gets bigger and bigger and bigger in these same franchises, Spider-Man, Batman, the Avengers, X-Men related. All the Marvel and DC comic book things that have been around for the better part of the last century at this point, like nothing beats this. Like what else other than, I guess there's been biopics recently that have focused on celebrities.
What type of movies beyond superheroes in the one-off mega celebrity biopic is really doing well now?

**Shawn Robbins** (1:42)
Yeah, superheroes still have their place. Absolutely. We see Spider-Man doing all of these numbers, but this is a year that has also seen the Michael Jackson film reach $1 billion.
The Mario Galaxy film, Toy Story 5 And of course, we cannot leave out Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey.
It may be sharing a lot of this pop culture moment right now with Spider-Man because of Tom Holland and Zendaya. And the two of them each starring in those films, getting married, they've really been a massive draw, especially for Gen Z audiences who have come out in force, representing over 49% of Spider-Man's open weekend. That's a large number, and that comes on the heels of films like Obsession and Backroom, doing well earlier this summer, also showing up for The Odyssey as well. Normally, the type of movie you might see reserved for the older prestige audiences, but it's catered to everyone, and so is Spider-Man. It really speaks to a strong variety of films in the market this year, really kind of bringing out not just the older moviegoers, but the younger generation as well, and that's really important for the industry.

**SPEAKER_1** (2:45)
Okay, so you mentioned Gen Z, of course, being a major force, and so what really are these younger audiences responding to that the studios seem to be getting right, maybe outside of, of course, the love affair that we all love between Tom and Zendaya?

**Shawn Robbins** (2:57)
Yeah, you know, the great thing about Spider-Man is that you get the spectacle you want from a Marvel film, but you also get this deeply personal story about isolation, which I think is something a lot of people of all ages can relate to, maybe especially the younger generation who have grown up online.
You get this deeply resonant story mixed in with the classic Spider-Man Marvel action film, some crossover characters that will stay spoiler free, but a lot of people have speculated about those for months. And by and large, it sounds like everybody's been really happy with the delivery so far. And I think all of those things combine just to create this can't miss event in cinemas.

**SPEAKER_3** (3:36)
Yeah, Shawn, I want to talk a little bit about obsession. I'm glad you brought that up because this was almost like your unicorn-like film. About a sub-$1 million budget, but then historic success.
Does this bring confidence back to studios that you can still do more with less? Or is it still going to be these $140, $150 million mega-blockbusters that they put all their eggs into?

**Shawn Robbins** (4:02)
I think it should give studios confidence, and we'll always see the big budget films. Those are the most risk-free because they're part of franchises. They can generate revenue in so many other ways. Studios love them. Audiences love them when they meet expectations, but I think you're absolutely right.
A movie-like obsession really changes the game, not just because it brings out gen-Z audiences, but it gives encouragement to studios to be able to take those risks, maybe on young filmmakers who haven't proven themselves like Christopher Nolan yet or Marvel Studios. We've seen multiple films now this year from content creators especially, coming from the YouTube world and the streaming world. They are the next wave of potential filmmakers, and that's where Hollywood's going to be looking a lot more closely after these films.