Some Spider-Man fans are taking to social media with reports of empty or near-empty screenings of the Spider-Man: Far From Home extended cut, issued to theaters Thursday amid online calls for a Sony boycott in the wake of the studio's public divorce from Disney-owned Marvel Studios.
The extended cut reinserts roughly four minutes of footage dropped from the original theatrical cut following Peter Parker (Tom Holland) running errands before embarking on a class trip to Europe.
This new footage, described in detail by ComicBook.com, includes three scenes glimpsed in trailers: Peter's passport pickup, a stop at the deli-market operated by Mr. Delmar (Hemky Madera), and a quip-filled action sequence pitting an armor-wearing Spider-Man against a restaurant filled with gun-toting thugs.
These and other deleted scenes will be included on the blockbuster's home release, which boasts over an hour of bonus features. The film is expected to be available to own digitally starting September 17.
Sony Pictures' reissue comes after Far From Home emerged as the studio's biggest ever film since first swinging into domestic theaters July 2, toppling 2012's James Bond franchise entry Skyfall with a $1.11 billion worldwide haul.
It's the second Marvel Cinematic Universe-branded film reissued to theaters with bonus content after Disney's re-release of Avengers: Endgame, part of a final push to bypass James Cameron's Avatar as the highest-grossing movie of all time — a feat Marvel Studios accomplished with a $2.79 billion global take.
The Far From Home extended cut is now playing in 2,781 locations and will expand onto nearly 400 more screens over the weekend for a total of 3,162 theaters, according to Box Office Mojo. The box office-tracking site predicts the extended cut to pull in roughly $3 million over the three-day weekend.