Spider-Man: No Way Home opened to rave reviews from fans and critics alike on December 17, 2021, due to its Multiversal plot, powerful emotion, and a masterful performance by Spider-Man's own Tom Holland. Now that its opening weekend is officially in the books, members of the Marvel community are reacting to the threequel's box office success and yet another record-breaking opening weekend for the MCU.
Leading up to the film's release, the hype for the threequel was either on par or surpassed that of prior Marvel juggernauts, including Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. In fact, the Spider-Man 3 director Jon Watts actually described No Way Home as "Spider-Man: Endgame."
Now that Spider-Man: No Way Home has lived up those comparisons and the hype, the Endgame directors have responded to all the Spidey success and the movie having topped one of their own Marvel film's previous records.
Russos React to Spider-Man: No Way Home's Record Opening
To celebrate Spider-Man: No Way Home, Joe Russo posted a video on Instagram of Spider-Man in action at Disneyland's Avengers Campus, joking that "this is the closest we can get to hanging out with @tomholland2013 now" and congratulating the film's team on "such a spectacular addition to the MCU:"
"Breaking all of the records!! This is the closest we can get to hanging out with @tomholland2013 now… Congrats to the #NoWayHome team on such a spectacular addition to the MCU."
Again, the director's post comes on the heels of No Way Home earning $260 million with the second highest-grossing domestic box office weekend ever. While the earnings failed to top the Russo Brothers' Avengers: Endgame's box office record, it did top the Russos' Avengers: Infinity War which earned $257 million during its opening weekend.
Now, this isn't the first time the Russos have commented on Tom Holland and Spider-Man: No Way Home's success, nor is the first time the Spidey threequel topped one of their records.
The Endgame directors took to Instagram back in August congratulating Holland and the threequel's trailer for breaking the 24-hour viewing record which was previously held by the brothers, with a caption that read: “more like bringing it home" as opposed to No Way Home.
In addition to the caption on the Russo Brothers post, AGBO, the brothers' production company, left a comment in step with Joe's humorous tone which read, "it’s always 'hey mr. stark' never HOW’S mr. russo'."
Much like Peter Parker and Tony Stark, Joe and Anthony Russo have been part of Tom Holland's Marvel journey from the start.
Tom Holland was cast as Spider-Man for Captain America: Civil War by Joe and Anthony Russo. Holland then appeared in both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame before starring in their AGBO film, Cherry, earlier this year.
Tom Holland & the Russos Brothers Assemble
Tom Holland's MCU story which began with Civil War and is reaching new heights with No Way Home simply can't be told without the Russos; but despite being largely responsible for his Spider-Man debut, the brothers continue to show their respect for the actor.
Before Spider-Man: No Way Home was released, Joe Russo expressed that he feels Tom Holland is "stepping into the role that Robert Downey once occupied for Marvel, which is the favorite character."
Due to the threequel's ever-growing box office numbers and the audience's response to Holland's performance, Joe wasn't wrong; and he also wasn't done.
He then took it one step further saying Holland is "in a lot of ways the soul of the Marvel universe" which is high praise coming from a director who helmed MCU films starring pretty much every MCU hero at that point in time.
While Marvel fans are already wondering where and when they will see Holland's Spidey again, many are also wondering when they will see a Russo Brothers Marvel movie again.
In fact, Joe Russo was asked this very question on the red carpet of the Spider-Man: No Way Home premiere where he claimed he couldn't "say one way or another." While that wasn't a no, it didn't offer much to go on; although, many fans are predicting the brothers to return for Secret Wars.
Also, if the Russos are still looking for that chance to hang out with Tom Holland, there could be a director's chair open if Spider-Man 4 moves into production sooner than later, especially now that No Way Home director Jon Watts is slated for Fantastic Four.
While only time will tell what Marvel has in store down the road, but as long as Holland and the Russos are open to continuing their MCU stories, the studio's record of breaking records only looks to continue as well.
Spider-Man: No Way Home made its theatrical debut on December 17, 2021.
