‘Movies Aren’t Dead After All’: Sony Pictures Boss Tom Rothman on Historic ‘Spider-Man’ Box Office and Losing Tarantino’s Cliff Booth Sequel to Netflix
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- Spider-Man: Brand New Day opened to $360 million domestically and $932 million globally — the biggest domestic debut in box office history and the second-largest global opening, and powered the largest collective weekend of all time alongside Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey.
- Tom Holland has publicly expressed interest in continuing as Spider-Man, and Rothman answered 'yes' when asked if there's a world in which another sequel happens, though he confirmed nothing is officially in place yet.
- Sony currently has no other Marvel spinoff characters in active development beyond Spider-Man, with Rothman attributing past misfires like 'Kraven the Hunter' and 'Madame Web' to audiences simply not responding.
- Netflix is releasing the 'Cliff Booth' sequel because David Fincher is exclusive to the streamer — the only director Quentin Tarantino was comfortable handing the script to after Tarantino himself decided not to direct.
- Sony is reviving the Cinerama Dome, shuttered since 2020, with plans to restore it to 'full former glory' using state-of-the-art projection and sound but with no food service.
- Rothman framed his confidence in Sony's four-part Beatles movies as a direct response to a 'roaring' box office, arguing audiences will turn out for theatrical events that feel 'special' rather than obligatory.
Why it matters: Rothman's record-opening celebration doubles as an industry pitch for theatrical exhibition at a moment when Hollywood was bracing for summer weakness — and his frank admission that Sony lost the Tarantino 'Cliff Booth' sequel to Netflix because of Fincher's exclusivity deal shows that streaming giants are now winning prestige tentpole IP that traditional studios once owned.
