So everyone's talking about Spiderman. As a huge Marvel geek, I am obviously disappointed there's a chance all the work the MCU has put in could be undone to an extent now that Sony has ended its deal with Disney. The chatter online centres around how awful Disney, Marvel and Sony are because they only care about money and not the fans...
The thing is, those companies didn't get where they're at today by not thinking about money and making smart business decisions. It's a vicious circle. On the one hand, yes, it's the fans that make them the money by consuming the product, but those companies need to money to make that product. I know Disney isn't exactly short of a few quid, but I can kind of see their point here.
When Marvel/Disney first acquired the rights to Spiderman, they were desperate. They didn't actually fully acquire them, they basically rented them in an extortionate deal that saw Sony keep 95% of the profits. Fast-forward a few years and Spiderman: Far From Home grosses $1.1B worldwide. From Sony's point of view, it became their biggest movie ever. For Disney, it was their fourth billion-dollar movie of the year. Knowing they have an excellent product, the Disney/Marvel Finance department said, "Hey, 5% of a billion is WAY less than, say, 50% of a billion. Seeing as we do everything, we should totally ask for more money, right?"
A fair point. However, Sony's Finance Department saw the proposal and were all like, "Hey, did you know, if we give 50% of a billion away, we're left with WAY less than if we only give 5% of a billion away?" This was backed up by Sony's top execs saying, "We still own Spiderman. We're Kings of the world now because we had one huge hit that someone else gave us. They need us more than we need them now. Tell Disney they get the same 5% or they get nothing."
I understand Sony not wanting a 50/50 split when it's their IP, but they need to understand they only made the money they did because Marvel but its name on it. I also think Disney could've negotiated a little. Maybe 75/25, for the sake of not ruining a multi-billion-dollar franchise they've spent 11 years building?
As things stand, the next Spiderman film will be made by Sony and will not be a part of the MCU, although talks between the two companies are apparently ongoing. For me, this is easily remedied by one of three options:
1. Sony stops being greedy and making childish excuses, Disney stops being unrealistic, and they negotiate like grown-ups.
2. Disney pays whatever Sony wants to obtain the full rights to the Spiderman franchise - pretty sure it'll be worth it.
3. Disney just buys Sony to spite them. Because they can. Probably.
People who say these companies don't care about the fans are thinking with their comic book hearts and I get that. But this is all a business at the end of the day. Sony are acting like stubborn bullies here. Disney need to be the bigger person. Whatever amount they have to part with will still be made back twice over, because it's Marvel. What's right for business is also right for the fans - put the MCU franchise first.
