Spider-Man: Far From Home received a big boost at the box office thanks to its rerelease this past weekend. Originally premiering in July, the latest installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe became one of the summer's biggest hits by crossing the $1 billion mark worldwide. Not only is it the highest-grossing Spider-Man film, it's the highest-grossing movie in Sony's history. As Far From Home's time in theaters nears its end, Sony decided to pull a page out of the Avengers: Endgame playbook and release a new cut on the big screen. It includes several additional minutes of an action sequence.
Sony was smart in their timing of the Far From Home rerelease. Labor Day weekend is traditionally one of the slowest periods at the box office, with new wide releases few and far between. Much like how the Endgame rerelease took advantage of minimal competition, the hope was the new edition of Far From Home would be able to find success. After its first weekend, it's safe to say that's what happened.
According to Box Office Mojo, Far From Home earned $4.2 million domestically this weekend, which is a 153.2% increase from last week. The film's Stateside total is now up to $385.8 million, trailing only Sam Raimi's original Spider-Man from 2002 on the U.S. charts. For the extended Labor Day frame, it's estimated Far From Home will make $5.4 million.
Endgame's rerelease over the summer helped it pass Avatar as the highest-grossing film of all-time, so it'll be interesting if Far From Home can reach any new box office milestones before it bows out. Sony would be thrilled if Far From Home could top Spider-Man's domestic total of $403.7 million, and all eyes will be on that. There's more than a $15 million gap between the two films, meaning at first glance, this seems unlikely to happen. Of course, many people said the same thing about Endgame surpassing Avatar, so anything is possible. Still, it'll be difficult for Far From Home to pull off, especially since its business will start to decline (again) beginning this weekend. IT Chapter 2 is the main release on the horizon, and most moviegoers will be preoccupied with that one than to give Spider-Man another watch.
Even if Far From Home just tacks on a little bit with the rerelease, it will ultimately go down as a huge winner for Sony, making this their third straight hit Spider-Man related film (following Venom and Into the Spider-Verse last year). The studio is certainly feeling a lot more confident about things than they were after The Amazing Spider-Man 2 in 2014, which could partially explain their decision to not renew their agreement with Disney/Marvel. There will undoubtedly be more Spider-Man movies starring Tom Holland, but right now they won't be taking place within the MCU. It'll be fascinating to see how that all plays out, but it's clear Spider-Man remains commercially viable.
Source: Box Office Mojo