Predicting The 20 Highest Grossing Movies Of 2017

Prediction: $950m

Spidey has come home, and also gone back to school. But he's also sort of an Avenger and he has lots of homework. And new villains to deal with. Complexity! Depth! Your Spidey senses should be positively shuddering.

Why It's Golden

Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 3 took $870m in total before the comic book movie bubble really inflated, and the convergence of two mega-brands in the MCU and Spider-Man (still one of Disney's biggest merch shifting titles) should push this even closer to a billion. It's a genuinely huge coup for Marvel and a big, big moment for the MCU, and the box office should reflect that.

It's also got Robert Downey Jr in, which seems to be a recipe for financial success for any MCU movie.

Will It Be Any Good?

Well it has to be. Sony haven't given up part ownership of the rights to their biggest fish to see it fail under someone else's guidance, and Kevin Feige needs to prove that that investment will pay dividends too. That will either lead to too much expectation (though the quality of the last two Spidey films suggests there may be some resistance to get too carried away), or precisely the right commitment to quality.

It's an exciting prospect either way.

And of course there's the fact thatTom Holland's Spider-Man was briefly one of the best things about Civil War, which offers a strong launch-pad. Having him team up further with Tony Stark promises to be brilliant once more.