If Sony indeed came back with counter-offers and Disney refused, that's a different story. However, at the same time I don't consider Sony an "underdog" against "big bad Disney". I earnestly think that some are letting their emotions towards loyalty in the fandom get in the way of viewing the bigger picture: this is two corporations have a very public and unfortunate spat that's essentially a game of chicken. Both are wealthy corporations, yet at the same time I don't think a separate arrangement is good for either studio. Spider-Verse is a miracle birthed out of SPA, not from Sony's much more problematic live-action division.
On the same side of the coin, I think Disney is also getting too demanding if they were unwilling to hear another offer. I don't think the polarizing discourse of "screw Sony!" or "screw Disney!" is adding anything to these negotiations as it's
very clear that's exactly what each company wants. Granted, the dial is more on the Sony side because most people remember that live-action Spidey has not done well in 15 years outside of the MCU. Yet gnashing one's teeth over Disney doesn't really solve things... it only worsens the discourse.
I see frustration coming out
@Joe and others, and I get where that's coming from but I'd rather look at the situation from a 10,000ft view (and this is coming after a couple days to sleep on it, if anybody wants to cherry pick)... I look towards James Gunn which spent, how long... a year? In "most definitely never" territory only to be reversed. The corporations WANT you to think this is a done deal, because that'll help sway how negotiations will go. Until the first live-action Spidey goes into production without Feige onboard, I don't believe it's over for now.
They don't own 60% of the box office. The control to Box Office big time, yes, but according to Box Office Mojo, Disney has 37.1% of the market share right now + Fox's 3.7%. So the own slightly over 40%. Yes, that's still a HUGE chunk, but 60% is literally 33% more than they actually have.
True, but let's also not forget that a large amount of that is audience demand. You can talk about how Disney has been bullying theaters about the first runs, but that still does not account for the massively low turnout for other films.