Spider-Man: Beyond The Spider-Verse is set to break a Marvel movie trend that has existed for decades with its climactic end to the trilogy.

Spider-Man: Beyond The Spider-Verse stands a promising chance of changing a trend that has remained a Marvel fixture for its entire cinematic history with its prospective success. Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse first introduced audiences to Miles Morales’ animated exploits in 2018, years after the MCU’s first live-action tease of the character. The movie’s success set up a promising precedent, but it was the sequel, Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse, that truly established the franchise itself, proving that its promise wasn’t a flash in the pan experience, and that the trilogy could be something truly special from start to finish.

While the Spider-Verse films have proved something special, they also demonstrate avenues for Marvel that may have looked more dangerous and risky without the Spider-Man movies and their continued favorable results. As such, the Spider-Man: Beyond The Spider-Verse movie is in something of a crucial position, as arguably the hardest part of a successful franchise to pull off is its ending – especially with the Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse ending having already set up a dramatic finale – and also because the Spider-Verse’s own box office suggests the movie could go above and beyond the numbers the series has seen so far.

The Spider-Verse’s Box Office Results Set Up Beyond The Spider-Verse For Huge Success

As of 2024, the overall worldwide box office gross for Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse stands at $384.3 million, and the worldwide gross for Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse stands at $690 million – though the chances of a re-release aren’t impossible, meaning this number could go up sometime in the future, potentially around Beyond The Spider-Verse‘s release. For now, though, this combined equals a total box office result of over $1 billion for the Spider-Verse thus far, establishing a real and tangible financial success alongside the critical acclaim the two releases have garnered.

Based on the substantial box office increase between the original movie and its sequel, it stands to reason that Spider-Man: Beyond The Spider-Verse could prove even more financially successful, bringing the franchise to new heights and underlining the potential of animation within superhero projects. This is especially true given that Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse‘s own increased success was seemingly from the positive reception for the first movie generating an increased level of attention and interest in its sequel – and with the sequel itself only bolstering this via its awards and acclaim, the third movie is already in a great position.

Spider-Man: Beyond The Spider-Verse’s release date is currently unknown, which can hopefully ensure those working on it are able to create the movie without having to potentially rush to meet a deadline.

Beyond The Spider-Verse Can Finally Legitimize Superhero Animated Movies

Despite there being a catalog of animated successes for both DC and Marvel, the medium is still often regarded as second-class compared to the elaborate live-action blockbusters that are the predominate focus of the superhero genre. Some of this is owed to the negative preconception of animation as a medium for children, but a major part of this is also the financial returns that animated movies have historically held compared to their live counterparts. Ultimately, this has historically been reflected by Marvel’s most high profile and focal projects being live-action – but this could easily change going forward.

If the Spider-Verse trilogy is able to consistently prove itself as consistently both appealing to broad audiences and viably lucrative at the box office, it stands a real chance of being the series that marks a notable turning point. Releases like X-Men ’97, The LEGO Batman Movie, What If…? and the Harley Quinn animated show have all recently underlined how possible it is to have releases that keep audiences engaged, and do something new and unique that is best depicted via animation – but no other series has quite the box office potential of the multiversal Spider-Man adventures, making Spider-Man: Beyond The Spider-Verse all the more important.

Why The Spider-Verse’s Success Means More Major Animated Movies Are On The Way

A series of spinoffs for the Spider-Verse have already been announced prior to the release of Spider-Man: Beyond The Spider-Verse, and the first of these – the Spider-Man: The Spider Within short – has already debuted. The Spider-Verse has also demonstrated how animated superhero movies can hold audience interest in a time where other movies haven’t, with live-action box office results coming in lower than expected. Combine this with the sleek showcase of visual, musical, and narrative potential that the Spider-Verse demonstrates for the genre, and it seems impossible DC and Marvel won’t have looked at following up on this success story.