PS5 game Spider-Man 2 finds a second life thanks to the success of the movie Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

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Sony Pictures’ “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” has significantly boosted interest in Marvel’s video game offerings, particularly Insomniac Games’ “Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.” Following the film’s release, the game saw a surge in sales, with approximately 316,000 additional units sold within two weeks, generating nearly $11 million in revenue across PlayStation 5 and Steam, according to Alinea Analytics. The film itself has been a box office phenomenon, earning $145 million in US theaters during the August 7-9 weekend and is projected to gross around $2 billion worldwide. This success has coincided with a PlayStation 5 Pro update for “Marvel’s Spider-Man 2” at the film’s launch. Additionally, the game recorded one million daily active users last weekend, representing a 2.6-fold increase compared to the period before “Brand New Day” premiered.

This positive impact extends beyond “Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.” On PC, “Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered” achieved a new concurrent player record of nearly 16,000 since its 2022 launch, while “Marvel’s Spider-Man 2” reached approximately 12,000 players on Steam. Tom Holland stated that “Marvel’s Spider-Man” finishing moves inspired the “Brand New Day” suit design. In response to fan feedback, “Marvel’s Spider-Man 2” received an update to adjust the “Brand New Day” suit. The recent release of new suits mirroring those from the film also contributed to this resurgence. Alinea Analytics reports that “Marvel’s Spider-Man 2” has now sold a total of 18.2 million units, with 9.2 million on PS5, generating approximately $1.2 billion in revenue since its launch. Rhys Elliott, Analyst at Alinea Analytics, described this as one of the most evident transmedia spillover effects ever measured.

Untapped Movie-Game Synergy Faces Release Timing Challenges for Spider-Man 2 Success

The film’s independent success further underscores this phenomenon. By the end of its second weekend, “Brand New Day” had grossed $1.67 billion worldwide, surpassing “Spider-Man: No Way Home” ($1.05 billion) at the same point. Projections now suggest a final worldwide tally exceeding $2.5 billion, positioning it among cinema’s greatest successes. In France, the film maintained its box office lead, surpassing 4.5 million admissions, demonstrating the significant, largely untapped potential for convergence between movies and video games. Sony benefits from its presence in both markets. However, synchronizing the releases of a blockbuster film with an AAA game remains extremely difficult given their very different development cycles. Approximately 20 percent of post-release game sales were physical copies. The film also set a new opening record in the Middle East, with the UAE as its top market ($7.4 million). Furthermore, 274,000 players accessed “Marvel’s Spider-Man 2” via PlayStation Plus Game Catalogs Extra and Premium tiers. The potential for synergy will next be tested with “Marvel’s Wolverine,” also developed by Insomniac Games and due out September 15th. Without a corresponding Wolverine movie scheduled simultaneously, the game will not benefit from any similar cross-promotional effects.