By Lewis Knight

Published: Monday, 27 December 2021 at 12:00 am


It’s a mammoth new hit for Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures.

Spider-Man: No Way Home has crossed $1 billion at the global box office, according to the latest industry figures.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe film is also the highest-grossing film of 2021, beating the Chinese film The Battle of Lake Changjin.

Comscore notes that No Way Home is the first film to top $1 billion at the box office since Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in 2019 prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.

This means that Spider-Man: No Way Home is cinema’s biggest hit since the pandemic began and as uncertainty surrounding the health crisis continues.

The film, which stars Tom Holland once more in the title role, also features Zendaya as Spider-Man’s girlfriend MJ, Benedict Cumberbatch as Marvel sorcerer Doctor Stephen Strange, and Jacob Batalon as Spidey’s best friend, Ned Leeds.

In addition to Marvel Cinematic Universe comebacks, the film directed by Jon Watts also saw returns for Willem Dafoe as the Green Goblin and Alfred Molina as Doctor Octopus from the Sam Raimi trilogy of Spider-Man films, plus Jamie Foxx as Electro from The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

Following on from the film’s critical and commercial success, The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that Spider-Man: No Way Home is getting its own Best Picture campaign at the Academy Awards.

The film will be made available to Academy members in theatres and also on an Academy-only streaming service. 

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige commented: “I think both of these types of films deserve recognition.”

"Spider
Tom Holland as Peter Parker in Spider-Man: No Way Home
Sony Pictures

He added: “It’s a good thing when people are in a theater and they stand up and cheer. It’s a good thing when people are wiping tears because they’re thinking back on their last 20 years of moviegoing and what it has meant to them. That, to me, is a very good thing — the sort of thing the Academy was founded, back in the day, to recognize.”

Meanwhile, star Tom Holland himself noted: “I’ve made Marvel movies and I’ve also made movies that have been in the conversation in the world of the Oscars, and the only difference, really, is one is much more expensive than the other.”

Holland also disagreed with past comments from director Martin Scorsese’s previous critical remarks of superhero films, where he described them as not being “cinema” to Empire magazine.

We have yet to receive Martin Scorsese’s review of Spider-Man: No Way Home!

"Spider-Man"
Willem Dafoe returns as the Green Goblin in Spider-Man: No Way Home

If you are keen to analyse the film’s big plot points,  well, look no further than our spoiler-heavy Spider-Man: No Way Home ending explained article to find out exactly how the epic instalment closes its climactic scenes.

If you need further information then we have an updated and spoiler-heavy cast list for the film, plus an explainer article for that vital Spider-Man: No Way Home end credits scenes.

Finally, you can stay up to date on the latest streaming news for Spider-Man: No Way Home here, as well as check out our guide on how to watch the Spider-Man movies in order.

Read more:

Spider-Man: No Way Home is available now in UK cinemas.

Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.