Spider-Man has become somewhat of a household name over the last few decades, but rarely has it been represented to it’s full potential. That is until “Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse” stepped onto the scene, of course. A film so teeming with life that one could watch it countless times, or eight in theaters if you’re like me, and still get something new out of the experience. Visually stunning, emotionally resonating, a touching tribute to the late and great Stan Lee and just an overall good time throughout. I loved this movie so much that I gave it my number one spot on my top 10 list, and with the amount of difficult competition it faced it’s quite a feat to have won the race. So how then has “Spider-Verse” not excelled at the box office in the same way a film like “Aquaman” has?

According to Box Office Mojo, “Spider-Verse” has racked up a solid $169 million domestic and another $169 million in foreign revenue. That’s nothing to shake a stick at because they more than made back their production budget of $90 million. I just find it hard to believe that a film like “Aquaman,” which for full disclosure I did not enjoy for a number of reasons, can rake in a whopping billion dollars at the box office like it’s nothing. That’s not to say the “Spider-Verse” isn’t being recognized by critics. In fact, it has been sweeping the awards season having already won a Golden Globe, a Critics’ Choice Award, and is currently nominated for an Oscar. I’m so happy to see it being recognized by critics for the fantastic film that it is, but I would really rather see that be translated into ticket sales for the movie. In my bold curiosity to find out who has seen “Spider-Verse,” I went out and asked people around campus if they had seen the movie and for some general thoughts on it as well. I wasn’t disappointed.

The general consensus of people interviewed was that they had seen “Spider-Verse” and loved it. Riley O’Brien, a fellow DePaul student, said simply that they “hadn’t felt that awesome coming out of a movie in a minute” and I’m inclined to agree. The film is such a burst of creative energy on display that it’s hard to not get wrapped up in the web of “Spider-Verse.” I did manage to find someone who had not seen it but that wasn’t for a lack of interest. Rylun Worden, a freshman at DePaul, said that “it was simply inconvenient at the time [of the release of “Spider-Verse”] and that [he] never got back around to it.” It’s a valid reasoning not having seen the film and I can’t fault anyone for not being able to rush out to a theater and spend hard earned cash on movies when they don’t have either the time nor money to give.

If you haven’t seen “Spider-Verse” yet, I’m not going to stand on my soapbox and shout at you for not supporting great animation when it exists. I will, however, let Spider-Man aficionado Joey Traverso put it best as to why you should see this movie. Traverso said that “[he] thought the movie succeeded in capturing the Spider-Man character. His ability to persevere despite great personal odds is what makes the character so appealing.” I really couldn’t have put it better myself. I genuinely believe that whether you’re a Spider-Man fan, a superhero fan, or just a casual movie goer that you’ll find something to love in his incredible piece of art. As Traverso states, “it will make you a true believer.”