‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’: Benedict Cumberbatch Doubted the Movie’s Success — ‘My Ignorance Was Showed Up’
Like most of the Spider-Man: No Way Home cast and crew, Benedict Cumberbatch feels delighted to see how well the movie has performed since its December release. However, the Doctor Strange actor didn’t always have faith in the Marvel flick’s prospects. In a recent interview, Cumberbatch revealed that he felt skeptical of Kevin Feige’s optimism regarding Spider-Man: No Way Home, but he has since been proved very wrong.
‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ has made more than $1 billion globally and counting
Few people likely could have predicted the speed at which Spider-Man: No Way Home would break box office records. The film grossed $260 million domestically in its opening weekend, making it the second-best domestic opening of all time.
Spider-Man: No Way Home has shown no signs of slowing down since then. As Variety reported, its 9th weekend in mid-February earned $7.1 million alone at the U.S. box office.
That brings the film to $759 million domestically, which means that Spider-Man: No Way Home is less than $1 million away from overtaking James Cameron’s Avatar. If that happens, Tom Holland’s third run as Spider-Man will become the third-highest-grossing film of all time, domestically. Meanwhile, on a global scale, Spider-Man: No Way Home currently sits at more than $1.8 billion.
Benedict Cumberbatch admitted that he once doubted the ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ predictions
Reflecting on Spider-Man: No Way Home’s success, Cumberbatch admitted to Empire that he initially had doubts about the movie’s post-pandemic performance.
“I think when Kevin Feige first said, ‘We’ll know about the future of cinema, or the cinemagoing experience, after this film,’ I was like, ‘Okay, everyone’s drinking too much of the Kool-Aid around here,” he said.
Of course, the Sherlock Holmes actor’s skepticism has since disappeared, and he admitted to being wrong.
“My ignorance was showed up,” he added.
In Cumberbatch’s defense, Spider-Man: No Way Home’s climb to the top of the charts has been an unbelievable experience for everyone involved. Even Spider-Man himself found it hard to digest. Speaking to Deadline in late January, Tom Holland admitted that fan responses to the film exceeded his expectations.
“I don’t think I could ever have imagined it as being so well received by everyone,” he said. “I mean, I guess I had an idea that people would love this movie, but in no way, shape, or form could I have thought it was going to be as big as it has been.”
Could ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ see the same results?
Cumberbatch will soon star in the upcoming Doctor Strange sequel, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The film takes place after the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home as Doctor Strange enters the multiverse and faces off against a major threat.
Many industry professionals already have a good feeling about the sequel. As Variety predicts, the new Doctor Strange movie could very well take after the success of Spider-Man: No Way Home since it continues the multiverse plot. Marvel may have another blockbuster hit on its hands.
Spider-Man: No Way Home is now playing in theaters. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness arrives in theaters on May 6.
