Success of Venom May Have Hurt Marvel’s Chances at Getting Rights to Spider-Man Back

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Though the critical reception for Venom has been terrible, the movie has surprisingly overperformed in the box office, and has earned about half a billion in ticket sales. While some people were hoping that Sony the film’s failure would mean Sony giving up on their SUMC franchise, it looks like Venom’s success is only going to lead Sony to grip their Spidey IP a little tighter.

As per box office analyst Jeff Bock (via Business Insider) Marvel Studios might have a harder time gaining back their Spider-Man rights because of the success of Venom. He says:

“If [Venom] had failed, there is a chance Sony would have definitely returned to the bargaining table with Disney. Now, that’s up in the air…”

… [Sony] took a calculated risk with ‘Venom,’ and it’s now going to be a series. 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 lot of fans had celebrated Sony’s move to share Spider-Man with the MCU, and that was after the bomb that was The Amazing Spider-Man 2. A lot of people were scratching their heads when Sony announced their Venom standalone without Spider-Man, and now the film’s success had opened the door for other standalone films centered on supporting Spidey characters. As of now, we know that movies Kraven the Hunter, Morbius the Living Vampire, Silk, and Jackpot are in development.

With Venom’s success, I don’t think it can be said that the other spinoff films are going to be a success. After all, Venom by himself is a popular character already. I can’t imagine the general audiences being excited for more obscure characters like Morbius or Kraven.

It’s also worth noting that the popularity of one film doesn’t guarantee the success of the sequel. The ‘success’ of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 can attest to that.

Personally, I would have no problem with Sony’s films if they just decided to stick to the main character of Spider-Man. Though Venom was ill-conceived (despite its success), a lot more positive reactions have been going to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which promises a whole new concept without trying to look desperate in building in a cinematic universe.

Catch Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse in theaters Dec. 14.