“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” is well on its way to becoming the biggest box office hit ever for Sony Pictures Animation, and while the usual factors for a hit film like strong audience buzz and a smart release date are major reasons why, the years of play that its predecessor “Into the Spider-Verse” had on Netflix was a major factor as well.
“Having an in-house streaming service has plenty of its own opportunities for profit, but as we’ve seen over the last few years, it also has its own challenges,” Comscore analyst Paul Dergarabedian said. “Sony has shown that partnering with an established streamer instead can be a viable strategy as well, allowing the studio to find an alternate way to take advantage of the big-to-small screen synergy.”