Peter Pranker: "Spider-Man" fans gather in Russia

The movie "Spider-Man: A New Day" has reached domestic cinemas. The tape began to be shown as part of the pre-screening service. On the very first day, fans of the franchise held cosplay gatherings and brought Spider to the leaders of the domestic box office. Izvestia toured the country's cinemas and found out what motivates the fans and where Kolobok went.

Kolobok vs Spider-Man

On Thursday, August 20, screenings of the new Marvel movie "Spider—Man: A New Day" began in Russian cinemas. Unofficially, as part of the pre—show service. The novelty immediately became the leader of the box office. According to the EAIS, by the evening of the same day, there were only three official releases in the top 12 of the rating, the rest were short films hiding behind "shadowy" Hollywood. In the first place is "Farewell". Among the legal ones is "The Last hero. Kolobok, who unexpectedly became Peter Parker's main opponent this summer and famously slipped to the third line of the top in terms of fees after the arrival of Marvel.

— These figures don't mean anything. Kolobok will continue to work on weekends, when parents will take their children to the cinema again. The audiences of these two films practically do not overlap, so "Kolobok" will quietly earn its 100 + million, and "Spider-Man" will collect crumbs on pre—screening service, which in fact is not much in the country, because not all cinemas are willing to take risks, - says film critic Sergei Sychev.

The main confrontation of the summer began with the fact that the distributor "Atmosphere Cinema" called on cinemas to postpone the screenings of "Spider-Man" on August 20 in favor of the fairy tale "The Last Hero. Kolobok", which premiered on August 6. The letter became public, and fans of the superhero franchise reacted to it with protest: social networks exploded with angry posts, and the rating of Anton Maslov's fairy tale collapsed to minimum values on various platforms. The total fees of Kolobok are now slightly more than 650 million rubles.

— The creators of Kolobok, on the contrary, would have received more respect if they had left everything as it is. People would probably go to this movie as a sign of support. And now many people don't go out of protest," Denis, 23, who became one of the first viewers of the new Spider—Man, told Izvestia in one of the capital's cinemas.

Spider fans held gatherings in Russian cities

Marvel fans organized a general gathering on the day of the launch of the new product in Russia. Even before the popcorn had time to soak in the oil, Spider-Man fans crawled into cinemas in different cities, many in costumes. The portrait of the viewer turned out to be more or less homogeneous: children, teenagers and young people.

— The film made the impression that was expected. Incredible combat scenes, the transmission of sounds, sensations and moods, as well as themes of overcoming and accepting oneself, realizing a new world and returning old details. I managed to get through in a Miles Morales spider costume, the trilogy of which will be released next summer. By the way, some of the cinema staff were also wearing Spider masks," one of the Perm audience told Izvestia.

33-year-old Alexandra from Moscow came to the screening at the Mirage Cinema in a sweatshirt with a spider net. According to her, "Spider-Man" has long been ingrained in the cultural code of millennials, and she infected her seven-year-old son with this love, whom she took with her to the screening.

— We reviewed all the parts, prepared, because this is the story of my childhood — from cartoons to TV series and big movies. Plus, Tom Holland attracts sympathy, I like his game. And anyway, the whole Marvel universe has sunk into the soul for a very long time. I want to watch the sequel, how it will end, turn out," she told Izvestia.

In this cinema, the atmosphere was set not only by the costumes of the fans, but also by the generous marketing support. Despite the unofficial status of the screening, the movie network has prepared a themed collection for fans of "Spider-Man": glasses and buckets for popcorn with spider graphics.

In St. Petersburg, Spider-Men took to the streets and went down to the subway.

— I've been following the cinematic universe for a long time. We've been waiting for a new episode for five years, and we didn't want to delay watching it for a few more days. I got a lot of positive emotions. As always, there was something to think about. The combination of drama and romance with Peter's superpowers gives this result. Plus, he's the same as all of us," Dmitry Barashkov told Izvestia from St. Petersburg after watching the film.

"Stan Lee is a genius and created a really cool thing"

Fans explained the hype on Thursday quite simply — they want to see the film with their own eyes, and not stumble upon spoilers on the Internet. But they are not ready to diminish the scale of the franchise either.

— Stan Lee is a genius and created a really cool thing. And people realized that it's interesting not only for those who read comics. It's very impressive! Cooler than action movies," Andrey, who came to a fan meeting in Moscow at the Mori Cinema, told Izvestia.

The action of the blockbuster takes place four years after the events of the movie "Spider-Man: No Way Home". After Dr. Strange erased Peter Parker from the memory of mankind, he leads a lonely life. Spidey devotes all his free time to fighting crime, and in the evenings, like a stalker, he watches through social media the lives of his friend Ned Leeds and his beloved MJ, who also do not remember him. When a villain begins to operate in the city, inhabiting people with the help of telepathy, Peter Parker's measured existence is disrupted, and those whom he continues to love are at risk. At the same time, Spider-Man notices a strange change in himself.

While the Hollywood superhero confidently weaves a web in the box office charts, Kolobok is not going to go into cultural oblivion. Both films will continue to work for their target audience. In the film industry, as in life, there is a place for both a Spider and a Bun, because everyone has their own audience. And yet the question arises: what does Russian cinema need to do so that its characters also become part of a large fan culture — and the audience did not just go to the premiere, but put on costumes of Gingerbread Men, heroes and other characters and organized gatherings?