No Way Home’ could have hit $2 billion with China release

Since its release in December, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” continues to top box office expectations.

The film is the only Hollywood release since 2019 to top $1 billion at the global box office and with $748.9 million at the domestic box office it is the fourth-highest grossing film of all time in the U.S. and Canada, just behind “Avatar,” which has generated $760.5 million, according to Comscore data.

The feat comes as no other domestic release managed to surpass $250 million in ticket sales during their 2021 theatrical runs.

However, it is “No Way Home’s” global box office haul that has experts buzzing. With $1.77 billion, the Sony–Disney co-production has become the sixth-highest grossing film of all time, just behind “Titanic” (1997), which stands at $1.84 billion. And it reached that figure without a China release.

The Chinese box office has been increasingly important for Hollywood films, especially those released under the Marvel Cinematic Universe banner. However, policy changes within the Chinese government, coupled with the accelerated growth of its own domestic box office, has led China to be more selective about which Western films are shown within the country.

The top four global releases, “Avatar” (2009), “Avengers: Endgame” (2019), “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” (2015) and “Avengers: Infinity War” (2018), all topped $2 billion worldwide, and had significant contributions from the Chinese box office.

In fact, without ticket sales from China, “The Force Awakens” and “Avengers: Infinity War” would still be below $2 billion.

“Spider-Man’s massive global success is one for the ages, but even it isn’t without a few asterisks,” said Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at BoxOffice.com. “The lack of a release in China has no doubt resulted in at least several hundred million dollars left on the table.”