After almost two years in the pandemic, movie theaters seem to finally be recovering from their vast decline in patronage. While there have been recent blockbusters that have attracted viewers attention, such as Marvels, “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” or the James Bond film, “No Time to Die” none has received quite as much anticipation as the newest Marvel Cinematic Universe film.
The culmination of Marvel’s Spider-Man trilogy “Spider-Man: No Way Home” has caused chaos for theaters nationwide. As entire showings immediately sold out as soon as tickets became available, some theaters scrambled to add as many showings as possible.
For fans of the franchise, securing tickets was no easy task. Thousands of Marvel- enthusiasts waited for tickets to go on sale at midnight, November 29. However, a mass demand and such a high frequency of users caused multiple movie theater’s websites to crash, leaving fans frustrated and ticketless.
Shane Rich noted his experience trying to get the coveted tickets, “Dane Costabile and I stayed up till 2:30 in the morning the night tickets released. With what felt like the entire country trying to get tickets, websites like AMC and Fandango crashed immediately. I was lucky enough to eventually find tickets. The entire experience just goes to show how many people love Spider-Man”.
Fandango, an online ticket service, reported the Spider-Man film shattered sales records for the year, surpassing previous blockbusters such as Marvel’s “Black Widow” released in July.
Notably, the film has gained similar traction to films pre-pandemic. According to Fandango, “No Way Home” is even predicted to surpass box-office hits such as “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Spider-Man Far From Home” the trilogy’s sequel.
But what sets this recent release apart from its contenders? Fan theories may contribute to the massive hype the superhero film has been receiving. Some fans believe that previous “Spider-Man” actors Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield will be reprising their roles in the new Marvel film, made possible by the multiverse introduced in recent Marvel productions.
Although their appearance has yet to be confirmed, it seems a consensus among fans has been reached. The most recent trailer release has contributed to the speculation, with the confirmation of previous villains returning, including those played by William Dafoe and Alfred Molina, both leads in the Tobey Maguire-led Spider-Man movies of the early 2000’s.
It seems this perceived casting would bring together superhero fans of multiple generations, hence the rush for tickets. Fans who grew up with Maguire or Garfield as their version of Spider-Man are jumping at the chance to see these roles reprised once more.
For those lucky enough to secure tickets, December 17th promises to be an exciting day for superhero fans everywhere.
