Some Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Viewers Are Having Trouble Hearing the Dialogue

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse premiered today, and it’s already a box office hit when counting Thursday previews. However, some theaters are reportedly facing issues with its volume, and many viewers have complained of being unable to hear large amounts of the movie’s dialogue at all.

Since the movie’s premiere, quite a few viewers have taken to social media to raise concerns about its sound mixing. Most who have posted about audio issues have been unable to hear dialogue over music. This seems to be especially prevalent during the movie’s opening segment, although some felt that certain characters were difficult to hear throughout the entire movie.

watched across the spider-verse and it was solid

but wtf was up with the audio in the beginning, that wasn’t just me right??

— TCNick3 (@TCNick3) June 2, 2023

One Reddit user pointed out that they wished they had closed captioning because “the soundtrack was booming and the dialogue got lost.”

Hey, @SonyPictures: everyone is complaining about the poor dialogue audio in “Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse”! It was a problem for me watching it in IMAX, too. (Gonna get a caption device for my 2nd viewing!)
Here’s comments from reddit about it. #NoSound #Sony #SpiderMan pic.twitter.com/kesOxZAccl

— Zardoz (@mr3film) June 2, 2023

Some moviegoers reported issues with echoing, while some simply complained about theaters not turning the volume up high enough. A few asked their theaters to raise the volume after the first few minutes.

Spider-Verse writer and producer Phil Lord even made stickers as a gift for projectionists who play the movie at full volume. In a response to his original tweet, Lord noted that the sound of the movie differs in every theater, though it might sound quiet and need to be raised in a full house.

PROJECTIONISTS!!! I’m sending you all a present pic.twitter.com/AdGHnxiScs

— Phil Lord (@philiplord) June 1, 2023

IGN has reached out to Sony for comment and will update this story with any response.

We gave Across the Spider-Verse an 8 in our review, calling it a “more-than-worthy follow-up to an all-time classic” thanks to its strong performances and character arcs (and despite its apparent volume issues). For more on Across the Spider-Verse, find how to watch it here or find our post-credits scene check-in here.

Amelia Zollner is a freelance writer at IGN who loves all things indie and Nintendo. Outside of IGN, they’ve contributed to sites like Polygon and Rock Paper Shotgun. Find them on Twitter: @ameliazollner.