Óscar Reyes Matute
There are phenomena in popular culture that need no permission to become etched in our memory. When we were kids, we eagerly awaited Carnival not just to play with water, but to dress up as Spider-Man. Those were the days when comic books came to us straight from Mexico thanks to the legendary Editorial Novaro. They cost a real y medio.
Once we had finished reading them and leafing through them over and over until their corners curled, the ritual did not end there: we would head to the entrances of movie theaters in San Juan de Los Morros, where boys arrived carrying bundles of supplements on their heads, shouting the sacred chant of popular street trading: “I buy, I sell, I trade!”
That nostalgia, which began with little newsprint booklets traded on the street, now drives a global industry. And we are witnessing a living example on movie screens with the worldwide release of Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
The box-office phenomenon surrounding this installment has shattered every previous mold. The film became the second-fastest movie in cinema history to reach $1 billion at the global box office, accomplishing the feat in just six days (behind only the historic milestone set by Avengers: Endgame).
During its global opening weekend, it came close to $932 million, propelled by a staggering $360 million debut in North America. Audiences and critics have responded with remarkable unanimity. On Rotten Tomatoes, it boasts a solid 91% approval rating from professional critics and an impressive 98% Verified Audience Score, placing it among the highest-rated installments in the entire franchise.
Behind such a commercial monster lie stories from the set that reveal the human scale of the project. Word behind the scenes has it that Tom Holland, along with Zendaya and Jacob Batalon, stood their creative ground with studio executives after watching an initial cut designed to satisfy marketing analysis.
The trio pushed for a more visceral version focused on the character’s dramatic development, proving that even in superhero cinema, performers’ artistic conviction can save a blockbuster.
And how does this global whirlwind connect with us? Venezuelan movie theaters have seen a massive response, reviving cinema’s role as a gathering place for families. And this is neither a minor detail nor a purely commercial matter: every ticket sold to see the web-slinger in Caracas, Maracay, Valencia, or Barquisimeto directly contributes to the Film Promotion Fund (FONPROCINE).
By law, 5% of the net box-office revenue collected by theaters across the country goes into this funding pool, which the CNAC manages to produce, develop, and exhibit Venezuelan cinema.
Packed theaters watching Peter Parker do not represent someone else’s triumph; they provide the financial guarantee that allows our filmmakers, technicians, and screenwriters to shoot the local stories of tomorrow. That childhood fascination that began with trading comics for a real y medio in San Juan de Los Morros has now come full circle, transformed into industry, culture, and heritage. Don’t let them kill Spider-Man — our cinema also hangs by his web!
