There was a lot of fanfare surrounding the "More Fun Stuff" version of Spider-Man: No Way Home when it was first announced, but that soon seemed to die off. Sony Pictures didn't start promoting the movie until very close to its release this past Thursday, and while we did get a new poster, there was no trailer or any significant marketing efforts.
Part of the reason for that may be what many fans have deemed an underwhelming extended cut. Additional scenes with Charlie Cox's Matt Murdock and the three Spider-Men were appreciated, but it wasn't quite as much as some fans thought, and a disappointing post-credits scene (along with a lot of footage already seen on TikTok hasn't really helped matters).
Despite that, Spider-Man: No Way Home is set to swing back to the #1 spot in a lacklustre Labor Day weekend at the North American box office.
Current projections from Deadline suggest the 2021 blockbuster is on track to gross $6.1 million over four days, with Top Gun: Maverick not too far behind with $5.95 million. Bullet Train, meanwhile, chugs into third place with an expected $5.875 million.
It's a shame that, when all was said and done, Sony essentially just dropped a cut of Spider-Man: No Way Home with little more than a few underwhelming deleted scenes spliced in. Fans had been hoping for something bigger, especially with behind-the-scenes photos confirming a sequence was shot with Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker battling the Green Goblin on his glider.
Perhaps we'll eventually get the "More More Fun Stuff" version? Don't bank on it.
We don't have global figures yet, but it's highly unlikely Spider-Man: No Way Home will be able to dethrone Avengers: Infinity War to top the $2 billion mark and become the fifth highest-grossing movie of all time.
What did you guys watch this weekend?