Sony Pictures CEO Jabs Anti-Theater Sentiment as Spider-Man: Brand New Day Breaks Box Office Records

Spider-Man: Brand New Day has Sony Pictures Chairman and CEO Tom Rothman connected unreality nine, and he’s sticking it to folks who judge streaming volition herald the decease of the cinema experience.

There’s thing peculiar astir going to the movies; thing truly beats crunching connected immoderate salty, buttery popcorn, sitting successful a nice, cushy chair, and watching a movie connected the large surface with booming situation dependable portion the worries of the extracurricular satellite hold for 2 hours.

That’s the sentiment of Rothman, astatine least, pursuing the record-breaking occurrence of Spider-Man: Brand New Day astatine the container bureau this past weekend. Despite being a reasonably standalone communicative compared to immoderate of Peter Parker's erstwhile big-screen adventures, it surpassed Avengers: Endgame to rake successful $360 cardinal domestically.

"So, I conjecture movies aren’t dormant aft all?" Rothman said successful an interrogation with Variety’s Rebecca Rubin. "What happened is miraculous. Spider-Man is uniting radical crossed cultures and ages. People tin piss connected theatrical each they want, but that’s 1 happening that lone movies — and movie theaters — tin do."

Brand New Day wasn’t conscionable a container bureau deed astatine home; the latest Spidey flick besides scored the 2nd highest-grossing movie debut globally astatine $932 million, coming successful 2nd to the eye-popping $1.223 cardinal earned by Avengers: Endgame backmost successful April 2019.

Of course, fixed Brand New Day’s success, fans are adjacent parts definite of and anxious to cognize if Tom Holland volition instrumentality for different Spider-Man movie — thing that Rothman couldn’t corroborate for certain.

"I emotion these questions," helium told the outlet. "It’s similar erstwhile a manager wins the Super Bowl and helium goes to the property league and they accidental to him, 'Are you going to triumph it adjacent year?' The honorable information is we don’t cognize astatine this point. This has been the absorption of our workplace for astir 2 years. I tin archer you this: I certainly, surely hope. I heard Tom accidental astatine immoderate constituent that helium wanted to continue, and we would emotion it if helium did."

When Rubin pressed for more, asking if there’s a "world successful which determination volition beryllium different Spider-Man sequel with Tom Holland," Rothman simply answered, "Yes."

Back erstwhile No Way Home released successful 2021, Holland said helium hoped to play New York’s affable vicinity Spider-Man until helium "can’t locomotion anymore," but much precocious began speaking astir taking connected a successor erstwhile the clip comes for him to enactment up the mask. Last week, helium said details surrounding Spider-Man 5 were "unclear."

"For whoever’s next, whether that is simply a Miles Morales oregon a Spider-Gwen oregon a Spider-Woman oregon thing similar that, I would emotion to beryllium a portion of mounting up the adjacent chapter," helium told Empire successful May 2026. "Whatever that looks like, I don’t know. But if I could bash what Downey did for me, past I would beryllium truthful contented swinging disconnected into the sunset."

After besides breaking Avengers: Endgame's records for home previews and opening days, Spider-Man: Brand New Day is inactive going strong, and volition adjacent person IMAX screenings starting August 7, joining the The Odyssey arsenic Nolan's epic adpatation extends its IMAX 70MM offerings to mid-September.

Virginia (she/her) is IGN’s News Editor. With 10 years of acquisition reporting connected games and entertainment, she’s got a storied inheritance successful the warring crippled community, influencer news, and viral online trends. Find her connected Twitter astatine @TheeMissGlaze.