New animated ‘Spider-Man’ film to release in June

NEW DELHI: Marvel’s new animated superhero film Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse will release in cinemas on 2 June in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. It is a sequel to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) and is directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson. It features Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Jake Johnson and Issa Rae. It will clash in theatres with Shah Rukh Khan’s Jawan.

A robust slate of movies in the second half of the year, following successive hits such as Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Thor: Love and Thunder in the first half, has helped Hollywood maintain its share at the Indian box office last year.

Trade experts said American films that are increasingly finding an audience in small towns are driving the need for large-format cinemas in such places, where young viewers closely follow franchises and characters.

In 2019, Hollywood movies made ₹1,250 crore- ₹1,300 crore out of the total ₹4,400 crore made by theatrical releases across languages in India. Hollywood has also rebounded far better than Hindi films in the post-pandemic period.

Close on the heels of Spider-Man: No Way Home which made over ₹218 crore upon its release in India last December, Hollywood has given hits like The Batman ( ₹48.10 crore), Doctor Strange ( ₹130 crore), Top Gun: Maverick ( ₹34.50 crore), Jurassic World Dominion ( ₹68.56 crore) and Thor: Love and Thunder ( ₹101.71 crore) over the past few months.

Hollywood is recovering well after the pandemic as people discover new entertainment on streaming services. However, challenges in India arise from the fact that with advancements in technology, the trend globally is moving towards large formats and larger screens. Premium large-format theatres are becoming popular in India, but continue to remain a luxury with tremendous growth potential.