• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic

2

Amazon's record Prime Day masks a darker truth: Americans are spending more and getting less

3

Ray Dalio just finished a 10-day trip to China. He says global leaders know America ‘doesn’t have what it takes to fight to maintain its empire’

1

Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic

2

Amazon's record Prime Day masks a darker truth: Americans are spending more and getting less

3

Ray Dalio just finished a 10-day trip to China. He says global leaders know America ‘doesn’t have what it takes to fight to maintain its empire’
Arts & EntertainmentHollywood

With Spider-Man Soaring, Maybe Franchises Can Save Hollywood’s Summer After All

By
Tom Huddleston Jr.
Tom Huddleston Jr.
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Tom Huddleston Jr.
Tom Huddleston Jr.
Down Arrow Button Icon
July 10, 2017, 4:06 PM ET
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Sony’s Spider-Man: Homecoming swung into theaters over the weekend and scored one of the year’s biggest box office debuts, raking in $117 million in domestic ticket sales and over $250 million globally.

The movie represents Sony’s third attempt at a franchise featuring the web-slinging superhero in the past two decades, as 21-year-old actor Tom Holland is the latest to don the “Spidey suit,” following predecessors Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield. But, despite the fact that this is the sixth live-action Spider-Man movie since 2002—and even though Hollywood’s ever-growing number of franchise sequels, reboots, and spin-offs have produced many notable flops in recent years—Homecoming is already a success after notching the third-biggest domestic opening of 2017, according to Box Office Mojo, and Sony’s second-best opening ever.

One thing that seems to have helped fuel Spider-Man: Homecoming‘s box office success is that critics loved the movie, which currently boasts an impressive 93% rating on movie reviews aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. Of course, critical reception is not always an indicator of financial success in Hollywood (just ask some of these past Oscar winners), but Sony’s new Spider-Man is the latest in a string of franchise films that have benefitted from strong reviews so far this year.

The superhero genre alone has seen strong box-office runs in 2017 for Warner Bros.’s Wonder Woman (92% on Rotten Tomatoes, $745 million in global box office), Walt Disney’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (81%, $858 million globally), and 21st Century Fox’s Logan (93%, $616 million globally). Even this year’s The Fate of the Furious—the eighth installment in a franchise that revels in plot holes as much as it does fast cars—pleased critics enough to receive a decent 62% Rotten Tomatoes score on its way to a $1.2 billion global box office haul.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune‘s technology newsletter.

Of course, it should not be too surprising that moviegoers tend to prefer good movies to bad ones, even if they’re deciding between summer blockbusters and not potential Oscar nominees. But, so often, when yet another big-budget sequel disappoints or the latest new franchise reboot flops, people are quick to throw out terms like “sequel fatigue” as a catch-all explanation—as if the only reason a movie like Paramount’s Transformers: The Last Knight made less than its four predecessors was because moviegoers are simply tired of retreads and are yearning for more originality. That may be true, but it’s also fairly likely that more people would have lined up to watch yet another Transformers movie if it had done better than a 15% score on Rotten Tomatoes. The same could probably be said of other big-budget flops in 2017, from Walt Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales to Universal’s first attempt at building a monster movie universe with The Mummy.

After those films, along with others, produced a string of underwhelming box office performances in recent months, there was concern that Hollywood’s entire summer box office could suffer a major downturn. Fortunately for the movie industry, movies like Wonder Woman and Spider-Man: Homecoming have swooped in to provide some welcome relief after winning over fans and critics alike, though Hollywood isn’t out of the woods yet.

This weekend brings Fox’s War for the Planet of the Apes to theaters. The third installment in that computer graphics-heavy sci-fi franchise is already receiving excellent reviews from critics (93% on Rotten Tomatoes), with critics arguing the Planet of the Apes trilogy is currently Hollywood’s best franchise in terms of quality. That strong reception has some analysts predicting the new film could make up to $10 million to $20 million more than its opening weekend forecast of nearly $60 million in domestic ticket sales, which would make for a solid winning streak for Hollywood’s summer results while also proving again the importance of franchise films receiving a stamp of approval from critics at a time when theaters are flooded with tentpole sequels and reboots.

About the Author
By Tom Huddleston Jr.
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Arts & Entertainment

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Arts & Entertainment

Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic
SuccessCareer Advice
Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 24, 2026
1 day ago
Matt Freese stopping a soccer ball entering the goal
SuccessCareers
Team USA’s goalkeeper passed on Manchester United, the club that helped shape David Beckham’s career, for Harvard—and has zero regrets
By Preston ForeJune 23, 2026
2 days ago
mex
North AmericaWorld Cup
After FIFA priced them out of their own World Cup, many Mexicans take their TVs to the street
By Megan Janetsky and The Associated PressJune 23, 2026
2 days ago
gg
CommentaryWorld Cup
CPJ: press freedom must endure the American World Cup
By Gypsy Guillén KaiserJune 23, 2026
2 days ago
toy
Arts & EntertainmentBox office
A $1 million horror film and a 30-year-old franchise are saving Hollywood’s summer
By Jake Coyle and The Associated PressJune 22, 2026
3 days ago
duck
North AmericaMexico
Mexico City’s unofficial duck soccer mascot stole the presidential press briefing
By The Associated PressJune 22, 2026
3 days ago

Most Popular

Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic
Success
Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 24, 2026
1 day ago
Amazon's record Prime Day masks a darker truth: Americans are spending more and getting less
Retail
Amazon's record Prime Day masks a darker truth: Americans are spending more and getting less
By Nick LichtenbergJune 24, 2026
24 hours ago
Ray Dalio just finished a 10-day trip to China. He says global leaders know America ‘doesn’t have what it takes to fight to maintain its empire’
Asia
Ray Dalio just finished a 10-day trip to China. He says global leaders know America ‘doesn’t have what it takes to fight to maintain its empire’
By Nick LichtenbergJune 24, 2026
1 day ago
MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
Success
MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
By Sydney LakeJune 25, 2026
8 hours ago
After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup
Success
After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 23, 2026
2 days ago
Trump’s international student crackdown kicked off a domino effect that could shave nearly $500 billion off the economy
Economy
Trump’s international student crackdown kicked off a domino effect that could shave nearly $500 billion off the economy
By Tristan BoveJune 24, 2026
20 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.