Many Marvel fans were disappointed, concerned and confused when Sony announced that it intends on launching its own Spider-Man Cinematic Universe, albeit one that doesn’t include the web-slinger and – from Marvel Studios’ point of view, at least – has no connection with the current incarnation of Spider-Man and the wider Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Nevertheless, it would seem that there’s plenty of intrigue (or morbid curiosity, perhaps?) about Sony’s first foray into this Spider-Verse, with Screen Crush reporting that the trailer for the Tom Hardy-headlined Venom has attracted more views on YouTube than any Spider-Man movie to date.
The official version of the Venom trailer has been viewed 64 million times to date, as opposed to 37 million views for The Amazing Spider-Man 2, 28 million for Spider-Man: Homecoming, and 25 million for Sony’s upcoming animated movie Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
The site goes on to point out that this is also ahead of the YouTube views for the likes of Iron Man 3 (62 million views), Justice League (42 million), Deadpool 2 (41 million), Black Panther (40 million), The Dark Knight Rises (36 million), Wonder Woman (29 million) and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (20 million).
So, will this translate to big bucks at the box office? Well, not necessarily, but Venom is a big fan favourite character, and given those numbers, Sony must be starting to feel quietly confident that it could have a decent hit on its hands.
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One of Marvel’s most enigmatic, complex and badass characters comes to the big screen, starring Academy Award nominated actor Tom Hardy as the lethal protector Venom.
Directed by Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland), Venom is set for release on October 5th 2018 and features a cast that includes Tom Hardy, Riz Ahmed, Michelle Williams, Woody Harrelson, Jenny Slate, Reid Scott, Scott Haze and Sope Aluko.