Marvel Studios, much like the rest of Hollywood, has had a tough journey at the box office since Phase 4 began in its attempts to recover from the pandemic. That journey put a large COVID-19-sized dent in the total gross for Black Widow, Shang-Chi, and Eternals, but Spider-Man: No Way Home was a different story.
After months of speculation, leaks, and rumors, No Way Home arrived in theaters in December 2021 and delivered everything fans were expecting - Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and MCU-altering ramifications. The result proved to be a record-breaking box office haul that rivaled even the Avengers movies.
Even ten months later, following struggles in its Spider-Man spin-off universe, Sony is still trying to scrape the box office barrel with No Way Home. The studio just recently launched the The More Fun Stuff Version in theaters with 11 minutes of new footage featuring the three Spider-Men, Charlie Cox's Matt Murdock, and more.
But did The More Fun Stuff Version deliver on Sony's hopes to bring No Way Home back to the forefront of superhero cinema?
Spider-Man: No Way Home Delivers at the Box Office Again
According to Exhibitor Relations Co., Spider-Man: No Way Home - The More Fun Stuff Version concluded its own weekend with an impressive $6.5 million domestic box office gross, which in turn broke an MCU record.
The extended cut shot past the box office gross of the opening weekend re-releases for Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: Far From Home, both of which previously added new footage.
Endgame came out of its first re-release weekend with $5.5 million, while Far From Home added $4 million to its box office total over the three-day weekend. The Multiversal blockbuster also outperformed the $310k of Morbius' disastrous meme-fueled second attempt and $405k of Venom: Let There Be Carnage.
Despite the success of No Way Home's extended cut, the MCU re-release placed only fourth at the box office this weekend, having been beaten by Top Gun: Maverick, Bullet Train, and DC's League of Super-Pets.
The five domestically highest-grossing flicks of the weekend can be seen below:
- Top Gun: Maverick - $7.9m
- Bullet Train - $7.5m
- DC's League of Super-Pets - $6.7m
- Spider-Man: No Way Home - The More Fun Stuff Version - $6.5m
- The Invitation - $6.1m
The total box office gross for Spider-Man: No Way Home now stands at $1.91 billion worldwide and $811m domestically.
Was Spider-Man: No Way Home's Extended Cut A Success?
The Labor Day weekend has long been notoriously slow at the box office, so Sony's decision to plant No Way Home - The More Fun Stuff Version over the holiday is a curious one. Nonetheless, the Spider-Man re-release has managed to perform rather well, even if it didn't top the weekend.
Perhaps the reason why No Way Home outperformed past MCU re-releases comes down to the increased marketing and interest in seeing more of Maguire and Garfield's Spider-Men in action. But who knows whether this figure has lived up to Sony's expectations for the box office.
Early in the weekend, The More Fun Stuff Version appeared placed to outperform Top Gun: Maverick and take the Labor Day weekend as its own. However, the extended cut, unfortunately, saw a significant drop off on Sunday, likely due to most enthusiastic fans catching the re-release right away.
On the final days of the weekend, No Way Home only managed to add $500k to its box office tally, in which time Maverick went up by $2.4m, demonstrating a drop off in interest for the Spider-Man flick. The box office totals for the first half of the Labor Day weekend, according to Exhibitor Relations Co., are as follows:
- Spider-Man: No Way Home - The More Fun Stuff Version - $6m
- Top Gun: Maverick - $5.5m
- DC's League of Super-Pets - $5.45m
- Bullet Train - $5.4m
- The Invitation - $4.7m
The box office outlet previously reported that Sony's early estimates had No Way Home winning the Labor Day weekend with $7.6m over the four-day extended holiday and $6m in the traditional three-day. However, the Multiversal event failed to live up to Tom Cruise's action epic once again in its 15th week.
This should still be considered a win for Sony and may well lead to more extended cut releases in the future. So far, Tom Holland's Spider-Man flicks have been the only MCU solo entries to receive extended editions, aside from Endgame which added an additional scene in an effort to surpass Avatar's record.
Spider-Man: No Way Home - The More Fun Stuff Version is playing now in theaters. The original cut is available now for home viewing.
