I’m not sure it’s possible to undersell just what a big deal it was when Marvel and Sony announced a partnership on the rights to Spider-Man that would allow the character to appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The most popular character in Marvel comics was finally able to appear alongside other Marvel heroes. Fans have shown just how excited they have been by this by making the various Spider-Man movies some of the most successful superhero movies ever.
The last Spider-Man film, No Way Home, became a colossal hit, one that, while still in the throes of a pandemic-ravaged box office, still put up nearly $2 billion in global box office. However, that word nearly apparently really bothers Sony studio chief Tom Rothman. In an appearance on The Town with Matt Belloni, Rothman reveals why the movie wasn’t able to cross that milestone, which really bothers him. He said…
So, it had big upside for us and it's been one of the great deals for both companies ever. A true win-win deal to the point where the third one just did and pi---s me off that I have to say this that it did a billion nine. You'd say a billion nine? What's the matter with $2 [billion]? Well, it didn't get into China.
China has become a major box office for Hollywood movies, and it can often spell the difference between a major blockbuster becoming a success or not. However, because China doesn’t want Hollywood movies taking too much of a bite out of domestic film production, the country limits how many movies it lets appear in theaters. Marvel movies were seemingly banned in China for a while.
Although interestingly, it turns out China had a more specific objection to allowing Spider-Man: Brand New Day into the country. They asked for a specific edit to the film before allowing it to be released. Unfortunately, such an edit would have been difficult to achieve. Rothman continued…
In my mind, it's over two because I know what we would have done in China. They said, 'Small thing. No problem. Just cut out the Statue of Liberty,' that was the request.
It’s not unheard of for movies to make edits to meet the cultural norms of different countries. We’ve seen references to gay characters removed from films before. However, we’ve also seen studios refuse to remove such references, leading to movies being banned in some countries.
Even if Sony and Marvel were willing to make edits to Spider-Man: No Way Home, it’s unlikely anything like that would have been possible. The Statue of Liberty is the location for the movie’s third-act final battle. Removing it would have been next to impossible. On top of that, however, Rothman says he didn’t like the idea of having to explain why such changes were made. He explained…
I really didn't look forward to sitting in front of Congress, telling them why I cut the Statue of Liberty out at the request of the Chinese Communist Party.
Rothman mentions that, “coincidently” the Stature of Liberty is not part of the upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Perhaps it will be able to open in China and the new Spidey movie will cross that $2 billion mark.
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