For decades, superhero fans have locked horns in heated debates over who reigns supreme as the definitive hero: Batman, Spider-Man or Superman.

The verdict is now in, delivered straight by the web-slinger himself.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day has rewritten box office history, hauling in $360m (R5.89b) in North America to edge past Avengers: Endgame ($357.1m/R5.84b). Globally, the film swung in $932m (R15.25b) to secure the second-largest worldwide debut of all time, while pulling in a historic R44m in South Africa alone.

Audiences return to cinemas

“This is indeed a milestone for our country, and it shows that South Africans are tired of switching between streaming channels; they want to have a cinematic experience again,” says film critic and author Leon van Nierop. “I actually had a good laugh when people wrote on social media that they do not watch movies in cinemas any longer because they can stream anything they want. They are heading back for the cinematic experience that could never be realised on a TV screen, no matter how big that screen is.”

Not a superhero fan himself, he says he enjoyed the film tremendously.

Lead actors deliver genuine chemistry

“The reasons are endless: The chemistry between Tom Holland (Peter Parker) and Zendaya (MJ Jones-Watson) works so well. According to Hollywood rumours, the pair got married late last year or early this year, so it is genuine romance on and off screen. Viewers can see that and relate to their story.”

Van Nierop claims that not even the romance between Clark Kent (Superman) and Lois Lane measured up to what happened between Holland and Zendaya.

“The humanity of the character plays a huge role in the success of the film, driven largely by the relationships between the different characters.”

Relatable script avoids superhero clichés

He adds that writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers achieved something exceptional with a script that avoids the usual superhero clichés. “I, for instance, do not like the Avengers because the characters are larger than life and cannot die and the script is very predictable. On the other hand, Spider-Man is human and he can die, and that is why people care so much about him. Even me.”

South Africans have truly embraced Holland in the role, he notes. “To me, he is just like an Afrikaner boerseun [country boy] who speaks English.”

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