BMW slammed by customers for new Spider-Man movie adverts on their car touchscreens

BMW has angered owners of its cars by bombarding them with an animation for the new Spider-Man film on the big screen in their vehicles.

Promotion for the new Spider-Man movie is at full frenzy, with its Hollywood stars taking to red carpets around the world to celebrate the release of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Tom Holland’s fourth solo outing as the superhero.

Already, the Sony-Marvel film has become the second-fastest movie to gross $1 billion worldwide.

But as excited as fans are to see the new film, drivers who own BMWs are less thrilled about how far Spider-Man’s web is being spun: they’re being plagued by trailers in their own vehicles.

Since last week, the German carmaker has been showing commercials for the new Spider-Man movie in some countries, though not the UK and Ireland, without warning, as part of a ‘special surprise’.

Announcing the tie-up last week, BMW said: ‘To celebrate the partnership with Spider-Man: Brand New Day, BMW has a special surprise for its drivers. 

‘The Spider-Man Animation will be available (in participating markets) to all customers with suitably equipped vehicles from 27 July to 10 August. 

‘Starting the car brings up a special banner in the Control Display. Clicking on it then activates the Spider-Man animation, comprising a full-screen festive animation in the Control Display with aptly chosen backing music and an accompanying light show courtesy of the ambient lighting system. 

‘These festive animations will be available in more than 70 countries worldwide for vehicles equipped with the relevant optional equipment and BMW Operating System 7, 8, 8.5, 9 or BMW Operating System X, as well as a production date after 7/2020.’

Disgruntled owners have turned to Reddit to voice their anger at the ‘surprise’ feature, with user yahyoh posting: ‘Paying 50-100k for a car, yet still getting ads…’

As first reported by The Autopian, the Spider-Man advert appears on the central infotainment screen when owners start up their BMW models.

The ad only displays when the car is stationary.

In videos posted by BMW drivers, the low-quality advertisement fills the screen, which tends to be BMW’s huge Curved Display, and plays out before a QR code appears to be scanned. The commercial is also added to the BMW app in case owners want to view it later.

While drivers can skip the ‘festive animation’, the tie-up has not pleased motorists.

Clicking off the ad creates an extra step for drivers who wish to jump in their expensive car and go straight to the information or entertainment they want, rather than having to reject Marvel’s latest release first.

But it has also made drivers angry that their connected cars are receiving automatic updates like this when they’re supposed to be connected to receive over-the-air software updates (OTAs), which are critical to running and improving BMW cars.

Reddit users have not been shy in voicing their anger at the situation, with one posting: ‘BMW should stop with this s***,’ and another writing: ‘F*** everything about this.’

A third user, Haunting-Prior-NaN, who is at least a fan of the superhero films, was still not impressed, saying: ‘As much as I love Spider-Man and BMW, this is really s*****.’

Other BMW owners are worried this will become a non-stop feature in future, with ads running throughout their time in the car.

DrSuperZeco wrote: ‘They’re just starting. Why do you think they removed the screen from the driver and put it in front of the passenger? So they can run ads throughout your journey.’

BMW cars are not cheap, with the least expensive 1 Series starting from just over £32,600, while many models, especially its luxury EVs, cost between £60,000 and £100,000.

Yet the German car giant is one of the first brands to provide subscription-based services.

In 2022, it sent customers into a rage when it revealed a pay-to-use service for features built into the car, such as heated seats.

Drivers of expensive vehicles with the technology already built into their cars were forced to sign up for a Netflix-style £15-a-month subscription to unlock chair heating functionality.

Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Volkswagen are just a few brands that also offer subscription packages to unlock features in new models. 

Today’s BMWs – including the M5 Touring (£116,160), X7 SUV (£93,280), M3 (£91,485) and iX SUV (£75,405) – all come with hefty price tags, yet owners still need to take out a BMW Digital Premium subscription if they want access to BMW’s extended range of apps and infotainment services.

This subscription (as of February 2026) costs £9.59 monthly or £99 yearly, and the trial period was recently reduced from three months to one month.

Fearing that they will not be able to skip ads in future without taking out monthly subscriptions, TonitoBontio posted on Reddit: ‘You’ll need iDrive Extra Premium to go ad free.’

While this Spider-Man message is not showing in the UK and Ireland, other ‘festive’ animations and messages do appear on screens throughout the year.

A BMW spokesman said: ‘The Festive App in the BMW operating system is designed to provide customers with optional themed animations and messages linked to a range of global and local occasions.

‘It is not a form of advertising.

‘Customers receive a pop-up message in the vehicle and can choose whether or not to launch the animation.

‘The animation can only be viewed when the vehicle is stationary.

‘In addition, it can be accessed manually via the Festive App menu icon if the customer chooses to open it.

‘BMW subsidiaries decide on a country-by-country basis whether to activate a particular animation, and the Spider-Man-themed animation isn’t available to UK owners.’