China Blocked ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Release Unless Statue of Liberty Was Cut

“Spider‑Man: No Way Home,” released in 2021, scored an impressive $1.9 billion at the worldwide box office — and Sony Pictures CEO Tom Rothman recently spilled some candid tea about that figure on The Town with Matt Belloni.

Here’s the part you’ll love: Rothman openly admitted ‘No Way Home’ “pisses me off” for not cracking $2 billion. Why? China.

Rothman explained that Sony never released No Way Home in China — and he’s convinced that with a China release, it absolutely would’ve crossed the $2 billion threshold. Now, here’s where things get wild. Rothman acknowledged that he could have easily gotten a Chinese release if the studio had adhered to one specific request from Chinese distributors: “Just cut out the Statue of Liberty.”

Yep — the Statue of Liberty.

That was never happening. The whole final act unfolds on the Statue of Liberty. Rothman added that he refused China’s request because he wasn’t exactly looking forward to “standing up in front of Congress, telling them why I cut the Statue of Liberty out at the request of the Chinese Communist Party.”

When asked whether the Statue of Liberty might be excluded from this summer’s “Spider‑Man: Brand New Day” — Sony’s next theatrical Spider‑Man movie — Rothman replied, “Actually, coincidentally, that’s true.” Translation: Spidey’s headed back into China this summer.

Now, I can totally see Rothman giving a simple note this time around to ‘Brand New Day’ writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers: “NO STATUE OF LIBERTY.” In fact, I’m convinced the sequel won’t have any American patriotic symbolism in it whatsoever.

Listen, the countless examples of Hollywood bending the knee to China could probably take up an entire write‑up. The examples are endless, with not hundreds, but thousands of documented instances of censored scenes in American movies over the last few decades. “Top Gun: Maverick” removed the Japanese and Taiwanese flags from Tom Cruise’s iconic jacket. Disney famously shrunk black actor John Boyega on “The Force Awakens” poster to appease Chinese authorities.

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