It appears the disastrous box office performance of Dark Phoenix may have a played a role in Sony and Disney’s decision to cease co-producing Tom Holland’s Spider-Man films.
Earlier this week, fans learned Disney and Sony opted to no longer collaborate on Tom Holland Spider-Man films after the latter rejected the House of Mouse’s 50/50 co-financing stake proposal. Now, a report by Variety reveals some industry analysts are pointing to Dark Phoenix‘s poor box office performance as one of the reasons Disney and Sony could not reach an agreement to continue their Spider-Man partnership.
Released in June, Fox’s Dark Phoenix concluded its theatrical run with a total of $65 million domestically and resulted in the lower-than-expected earnings for The Walt Disney Company, which completed its acquisition of 20th Century Fox earlier this year. According to an insider, Disney was partly motivated to cease negotiations with Sony to continue co-producing Spider-Man films with Tom Holland because the company wanted Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige to focus his efforts on the properties that were acquired in the Fox deal.
The outlet reports an individual familiar with Walt Disney Studios said co-chairman Alan Bergman insisted the negotiations with Sony come to an end after Dark Phoenix proved to be a box office disaster. However, the report also notes that another insider disputes the claim that Dark Phoenix factored into Bergman’s decision to cease talks with Sony.
As it stands, Sony is reportedly planning two more Spider-Man films with Tom Holland in the role. However, Tom Holland’s Spider-Man will no longer be part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe unless Disney and Sony can reach an agreement on new terms to continue their partnership.
In the meantime, Dark Phoenix will be available on Digital HD starting September 3rd, 2019, followed by a 4k Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD release on September 17th. Written and directed by Simon Kinberg, Dark Phoenix stars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Sophie Turner, Tye Sheridan, Alexandra Shipp, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Evan Peters, and Jessica Chastain.
Stay tuned to Heroic Hollywood for the latest news on the situation between Sony and Disney as well as Tom Holland’s future as Spider-Man.
Source: Variety
