If you’re like our own Nick Doll, who recently wrote up a piece on why he thinks Sony will be taking their Spider-Man ball and go home, then chances are you’ve been a bit worried about the success of Venom. As someone who hates to see movies fail, this felt a bit counterintuitive to me, but I too had a fear that its success would embolden them to continue churning out tripe in the years to come.

Now, it looks like our fears over here at LRM weren’t exactly unfounded. Thus far, Sony has made $543 million at the box office, going on to be an undeniable success for Sony, proving once and for all that they don’t need Marvel Studios in order to profit on their bankable properties. With their contract with Marvel Studios expiring next year with the release of Spider-Man: Far From Home, things may be looking a bit grim for MCU fans who love seeing Spider-Man, as Exhibitor Relations senior box office analyst Jeff Bock revealed to Business Insider.

“If it had failed, there is a chance Sony would have definitely returned to the bargaining table with Disney. Now, that’s up in the air.

[…]

“[Sony] took a calculated risk with Venom, and it’s now going to be a series. It seems Disney needs Sony’s Spider-Man more than Sony needs Disney … If they consistently make films audiences want to see, Disney will have to buy Sony to get Spider-Man back.”

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This is especially troubling considering how willing the studio has proven they just want to make money. Now, don’t get me wrong, all studios want to make money, but at least in the case of Marvel Studios, you get a feeling that their primary means of doing so revolves around the idea of making a good movie. That doesn’t seem to be the case at Sony.

“Sony just wants to make a buck, and they don’t mind throwing s— at the wall to make a buck,” an anonymous former production assistant said.

Sadly, $542 million is proof that their approach worked. Sure, the film tanked with critics, but they still managed to make plenty of money, with plenty of fans deciding the movie was perfectly serviceable. You’d be hard-pressed to find someone who thought it was great, but it seemed like most felt it good enough to warrant a watch, and it looks like that’s all they may need in order to make a quick buck, as it were.

But will this approach work with all the other minor characters that include Black Cat, Silver Sable, and Morbius? That isn’t so clear. For all we know, Sony could be looking back at the Amazing Spider-Man movies and working hard to avoid replicating that mistake, but it’s not like we’ve never seen businesses make bad decisions for a short-term gain in the past.

What do you make of all this? Are you worried that Sony won’t renew their contract with Marvel Studios? If you were calling the shots at Sony, what would you do? Let us know down below!

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SOURCE: Business Insider