Who would have thought one friendly neighborhood Spider-Man could wallop the entire Justice League?
This week saw new movie trailers drop for "Spider-Man: Homecoming" and "Justice League," two of the most hotly anticipated movies of 2017 in a box-office year chock full of superheroes. Yet according to a measure of online buzz by BoxOffice.com, Marvel's teenage wall-crawler from Queens is single-handedly overpowering DC Comics' metahuman squad.
"In a nutshell, we're catching more Twitter mentions for Justice League, but the sentiment scores are very modest compared to clearer enthusiasm for Spider-Man," Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at BoxOffice.com, told CNBC in an email.
While Spidey won on quality but lost out to the Justice League on quantity on their respective trailer release days, data from comScore shows the social media conversation around "Spider-Man: Homecoming" has been far more robust over a longer period. The stakes are high for both films.
"Spider-Man: Homecoming" is Sony Pictures' second reboot of the franchise. It partnered with Disney-owned hit-maker Marvel Studios, bringing Spider-Man into its massively popular shared cinematic
Meanwhile, "Justice League" unites Batman, Wonder Woman and other heavy hitters in Warner Bros.' answer to Marvel's multibillion-dollar Avengers franchise.
To date, movies in Marvel's cinematic universe have generally drawn better reviews and fan reactions than the interrelated films of DC's silver screen world — cheekily nicknamed the "
"Spider-Man: Homecoming" appears poised to extend that streak. On the day the latest trailer was released, the film drummed up 24 positive mentions for every negative comment. The next day, sentiment improved to 37 cheers for
Sentiment for "Justice League" was more modest. It drew six plaudits for
That sentiment carried over on Facebook, according to BoxOffice.com data. "Spider-Man: Homecoming" attracted more new fans on Facebook on trailer release day than the "Justice League" movie page mustered.
One factor may be that Sony is revealing more of its hand with the latest tease (though many fans are complaining that the preview spoils too much of the movie).
@justinjrusso: cool Spider-Man trailer, I like the part when you can see the entire movie in it
There is plenty of flash in the "Spider-Man: Homecoming" trailer, but it focuses more squarely on Peter Parker's struggle to become a worthy hero and his relationship with Iron Man, played by fan favorite Robert Downey Jr.
The "Justice League" trailer contains glimmers of humor between its cast, but much of its run-time is spent introducing new characters as they strike hero poses and leap into a battle. There are few clues given about the story.
To be sure, "Spider-Man: Homecoming"
Plus, Warner Bros. has shown in the past its iconic lineup of DC Comics characters can rise above muted sentiment and draw in fans.
Despite poor reviews, last year's "Justice League" lead-in, "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice," took in $166 million at its U.S. opening — and went on to gross $871 million worldwide. "Suicide Squad," part of DC's movie universe that has ties to the Justice League, also overcame tough reviews to earn $744 million worldwide.
Correction: This story has been updated to reflect the change in Facebook fans for the "Justice League" movie. An earlier version cited data measuring Facebook fans of the "Justice League" comic book.