Spider-Man: No Way Homecontinues to defy the odds stacked against it, generating tremendous turnout for the new addition to the Peter Parker narrative. However, the same doesn’t ring true for Jessica Chastain’sThe 355, which has the honor of being the first film to leap into the 2022 box office pool.
The 355is comprised of a profoundly talent female led cast, starring Diane Kruger, Penelope Cruz, Jessica Chastain,Black Panther’s Lupita Nyong’o, and Bingbing Fan.The 355was initially supposed to see its theatrical release June 03, 2025, but it suffered a year-long delay because of the coronavirus surge at the time. The push to release the film later centered around the hope that things would improve regarding COVID-19 infection rates and moviegoer turnouts. The arrival of an infectious new variant, however, presented similar problems, but the film continued with its release because of the rejuvenationSpider-Man: No Way Homebrought back to box offices. However, the variant has sparked trepidation within moviegoers, resulting inThe 355’s poor opening weekend performance, generating $4.8 million domestically.
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The beginning of the calendar year isn’t always an accurate representation of box office projections, but it does provide some insight at a certain level into what studios can expect for theatrical turnouts. Per The Hollywood Reporter,The 335was released in 3,145 theaters and hoped to accumulate around $4 million on its Friday release. The numbers, however, fell incredibly short, as the film only generated $1.7 million on its opening day. The projected $4 million didn’t come to fruition until the end of the weekend, which negativeThe 355reviewsdidn’t aid. The current score on Rotten Tomatoes for the film sits at 27%, which differs from the audience’s score, which currently sits at 82%. Expectations for the film fell way below the baseline set by Universal and FilmNation, which could be a sign of things to come for a new year still in the midst of a pandemic.
Spider-Man: No Way Homecontinues to perform welldespite the new surge, generating $33 million in its fourth theatrical weekend at the box office. The critically acclaimed film attracts audiences to the theater, steadily climbing the mountain to sit amongst films that have grossed record numbers at the domestic box office. The film, delivered by Marvel Studios and Sony, has faced the pandemic head-on, becoming the first $1 billion film since 2019, which speaks volumes considering that Marvel Studios did not have a single release in 2020 because of the pandemic. The success is tremendous for the studios that brought this film to life, but it’s a bit misleading for possible theatrical projections. It’s unfair to compareThe 355to the web-slinging hero because they both attract a different demographic, but it does shed some light on who’s willing to show up and who’s more inclined to stay home out of caution. Studios have some tough decisions to make, and some have already deemed the dice roll to be too risky.
Morbiuswas supposed to be the year’s first big release at the end of January but saw its release pushed back to April 2022 because of recent coronavirus concerns.ScreamandMoonfallseem to be on track to hit theaters at their scheduled time, but their performance will speak volumes about the moviegoers mindset. The shift within theMorbiusrelease has some apprehensive that same may be true forThe Batman, which is supposed to arrive in March, but nothing has arisen about possible pushbacks. Pixar recently entered the conversation, sending its upcoming filmTurning Redstraight to Disney Plusin March, skipping its theatrical release. It’s clear that studios have concerns over the pandemic and the role it will play in the amount of revenue generated. WhileSpider-Man: No Way Homecontinues to soar because of the excitement it has developed,The 355, unfortunately, shows that not everyone is willing to take the risk.
So, what will the future of the box office look like in 2022? It’s unclear at the moment, but the recent pandemic concerns have already made their presence felt. Universal and Film Nation hoped for more from the Chastain-led film, but if audiences aren’t willing to show up, numbers will continue to be less than impressive.
