Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) is the sequel to 2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson. This animated superhero film continues the multiverse saga of Miles Morales, a teenage Spider-Man from Brooklyn, as he reunites with Gwen Stacy and is thrust into a vast network of Spider-People tasked with protecting the multiverse. When ideological clashes arise between Miles and the multiverse's protector Miguel O’Hara (Spider-Man 2099), Miles must define what it truly means to be a hero—on his own terms. The film deepens its themes of identity, fate, and rebellion, while expanding the narrative and visual ambition of its predecessor. At the box office, Across the Spider-Verse was a major hit, grossing $690 million worldwide on a budget of around $100 million. It opened to $120.6 million domestically in its first weekend, the highest-ever for a Sony Pictures Animation film and a clear sign of the franchise's growing popularity. It significantly outperformed the original film, which grossed $384 million globally. Critics lauded the film’s bold animation style, emotionally resonant storytelling, and complex characters. It currently holds a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an 86 Metascore on Metacritic. The animation pushed boundaries again—mixing frame rates, art styles, and cultural aesthetics across different universes—and was widely considered a technical milestone in the industry. Many reviewers hailed it as a rare sequel that surpasses the original in scope and impact. The film was nominated for multiple awards, including Best Animated Feature at the 96th Academy Awards (2024), though it surprisingly lost to The Boy and the Heron. It won Best Animated Feature at the BAFTA Awards and Critics' Choice Awards, and received high praise at the Annie Awards, winning in several categories including Best Direction and Best Character Animation. Its legacy is still unfolding, but Across the Spider-Verse has already cemented itself as one of the defining animated films of the 2020s. It elevated the superhero genre, proved that mainstream audiences will embrace non-traditional animation, and ended on a bold cliffhanger that set high expectations for the concluding chapter, Beyond the Spider-Verse.