‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ made box office history in its first weekend in theatres. The Sony-released superhero movie became the second-biggest North American opening ever with an astonishing USD 355 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday. It was just a few million shy of ‘Avengers: Endgame’, which debuted to USD 357 million in 2019.
‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ scores USD 927 million debut
The film also made USD 572 million from over 73,500 screens internationally, with China contributing USD 121 million alone, adding up to a USD 927 million worldwide debut that is second only to ‘Endgame’ (USD 1.2 billion).
‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ records strong opening at box office
‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ started strong, with a record USD 168 million opening day from 4,487 theaters in the U.S. and Canada, besting ‘Avenger: Endgame’s USD 157 million Friday. The studio predicted it would lead to a USD 325 million opening weekend, which would still have beaten the second-place record. It takes the place of ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ which opened to USD 260 million in December 2021. In the realm of best opening weekends in North America, they’re followed by ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ (USD 257 million in 2018) and ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ (USD 247 million in 2015).
‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ to beat ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ record
Tom Holland‘s run as the comic book webslinger has been a mighty one. ‘No Way Home’, his third standalone Spider-Man movie, made over USD 1.9 billion worldwide to become the eighth-highest earning movie of all time, not accounting for inflation. It was also the first movie since the beginning of the pandemic to cross the USD 1 billion mark.
‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ overtakes ‘The Odyssey’
But the triumph of ‘Brand New Day’ also comes on the heels of another major movie featuring Holland and Zendaya: Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’, which slid to second place in its third weekend in theaters with USD 51 million. Their combined might helped propel the biggest weekend of all time for North American movie theaters, with an estimated USD 430 million in total ticket sales, according to Rentrak.They’re also helping blockbusters soar, and in a business that is partly propelled by momentum, ‘Spider-Man’ had the benefit of coming after ‘The Odyssey’, which fell only 43% in its third weekend. ‘The Odyssey’ has now earned USD 395.5 million domestically, bringing its global total to USD 911.4 million. The film will soon open in South Korea (Aug. 5), China (Aug. 14) and Japan (Sept. 11). Its studio, Universal, also became the first this year to surpass USD 4 billion globally thanks in part to ‘Michael’, which it distributed internationally, and ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’.
‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ box office expectations
Expectations were always high for ‘Brand New Day’ which was directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and cost a reported USD 225 million to produce, not including marketing expenses. But there were worries it wouldn’t attract the same level of mass audience enthusiasm as its predecessor which integrated past Peter Parker actors Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield into the mix. In reality, interest was higher than ever. ‘Brand New Day’ also received strong reviews from critics and audiences. It currently has a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes; Audiences gave it an “A” CinemaScore and a five-star rating on PostTrak.Cries about the death of the superhero movie have been looming since ‘Endgame’ with more than a few high-profile flops in the years since, including several from the once-impenetrable Marvel Studios. Still, when they work, they really work, most notably with ‘No Way Home’ and ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’, which made over USD 1.3 billion.
Kevin Feige reacts to ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ success
Marvel Studios president and ‘Spider-Man’ producer Kevin Feige said in a statement, “This debut reflects the enduring power of Marvel’s characters, and the connection they continue to have with fans around the world – and, as audiences saw, it sets up exciting things to come.”Producer Amy Pascal added that it “reinforces that moviegoers are hungry for stories that are both spectacular and deeply human.”
Animated films round up Top 5
A slew of animated PG-rated holdovers rounded out the top five. ‘Toy Story 5’ was in third place with USD 6.3 million, followed by ‘Minions & Monsters’ in fourth and ‘Moana’, in fifth. And there were bright spots further down the chart as well. In sixth place with USD 2 million, ‘Hadestown: The Musical’ surpassed ‘Hamilton’ to become the highest grossing live theater capture release ever with a running total of USD 18.2 million.
Summer box office crosses USD 4 Billion
Paul Dergarabedian, the head of marketplace trends for Rentrak, said the “Spider-Man” effect could help the summer movie season surpass the USD 4 billion mark for the first time since the Barbenheimer summer of 2023, and the third-ever billion dollar August.
Top 10 movies at the North American box office
With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Rentrak:1. ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ – USD 355 million.2. ‘The Odyssey’ – USD 51 million.3. ‘Toy Story 5’ – USD 6.3 million.4. ‘Minions & Monsters,’ – USD 5.8 million.5. ‘Moana’ – USD 5.3 million.6. ‘Hadestown: The Musical’ – USD 2 million.7. ‘The Invite’ – USD 1.2 million.8. ‘I Want Your Sex’ – USD 600,000.9. ‘Young Washington’ – USD 477,727.10. ‘Obsession’ – USD 470,000.
