By Maeve Tuma, Staff Writer
Spider-Man No Way Home was released in theaters on December 17th, and has already made over a billion dollars. Not only was it the first pandemic era film to make a billion dollars, but it has also become the eighth most profitable film of all time at the global box office.
The two-and-a-half hour feature is a part of the MCU’s phase four and stars Tom Holland as Peter Parker, Zendaya as M.J. Watson, and Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange. At the end of Far From Home, the second movie in Holland’s trilogy, Spider-Man's identity is revealed, along with the concept of a multiverse. Since the whole world thinks of Peter as a murderer, he asks Doctor Strange for help. The stakes are heightened when Green Goblin, Doc Ock, Electro, Sandman, and Lizard all arrive in search of Peter. The film's inclusion of elements from three different universes and nearly 20 years of cinema earned it the highest rating of any Spiderman movie ever.
Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a 93%, which is the 3rd highest rating out of all the Marvel movies, and the audience gave it a 98%. We surveyed Herndon High School students and they gave the movie a 9.25 out of 10. Without giving away any spoilers, students stated “It was the best Spider-Man movie, ever since Stan Lee created the character,” and “I loved how many twists the movie had and how every time it seemed to calm down something else happened.”
No Way Home is the last movie in Holland's trilogy, and while the conclusion was satisfying to some, it left an opening for new movies to come. As of now, Sony and Marvel have no contractual agreement to keep Spiderman in the MCU, so the future of the character is uncertain. Whether Holland’s Spider-Man returns to the screen or not, we can’t wait to see what’s next for Peter Parker.