“Spider-Man” is swinging into theaters this weekend — and it’s already breaking records set by previous Marvel blockbusters.
During preview showings Wednesday and Thursday, “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” earned $72 million, more than any other movie in history, per Variety. That record was previously held by the Marvel juggernaut “Avengers: Endgame,” which made $60 million during previews and still holds the record for the biggest opening weekend of all time.
This also means that “Spider-Man” has outstripped both “The Odyssey” and “Toy Story 5,” which had previously been at the top of preview earnings this year, with $17.6 million and $17.5 million, respectively, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“Brand New Day” is expected to earn between $260 million and $280 million during its opening weekend, which would put it in second place behind “Endgame” and ahead of the last “Spider-Man” film, “No Way Home,” for the largest opening weekend, Variety reported.
Audiences are racing to “Brand New Day,” and, for the most part, it appears they’re liking what they’re seeing. It has a 98% audience score, based on over 5,000 reviews, on Rotten Tomatoes as of Friday morning, while the critics’ score is a more measured but still impressive 90%.
Here’s a look at what critics are saying about “Spider-Man.”
Critics’ reviews for ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’
“Spider-Man” comes on the heels of a long line of superhero movies and what some are calling “superhero fatigue” for movie audiences, as Margaret Darby pointed out in her review for Deseret News of “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.” And that fatigue seems to show through in a number of critics’ reviews of the film.
But Darby wrote that the new movie “gives Marvel a much-needed jolt of energy.”
“‘Brand New Day’ likely won’t be enough to cure superhero burnout, but it is Marvel’s strongest effort in recent years,” Darby wrote, “preserving the ‘Spider-Man’ franchise’s solid reputation while pointing the studio in the right direction.”
Some critics felt like “Brand New Day” was enough of a departure from the Marvel formula to give it a fresh feel, including Laura Sirikul for Forbes, who wrote the movie is “refreshing and, despite the MCU continuation, feels like something ‘brand new’ in this superhero world.”
But others felt that the weight of the Marvel universe bogged the movie down.
“This movie feels as if it’s carrying more franchise weight on its shoulders, and that leaves less room for emotional weight,” The New York Times’ Alissa Wilkinson wrote. “It’s more scattered as a result, and while hardcore M.C.U. fans might be pleased, the rest of us are, demonstrably, getting kind of tired of having to do our homework.”
Still, many of the reviews were positive, though muted.
“If nothing else, ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ is proof that you can at least try to build a better Marvel movie — even with its flaws, this one is superior to most,” Stephanie Zacharek wrote for Time magazine.
And several critics had high praise for Tom Holland’s performance in his fourth outing as the web-slinger — the Times called it “winsome and wonderfully kinetic,” and USA Today’s Brian Truitt said it was Holland’s “most emotionally gripping work ever.”
When does ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ come out?
“Spider-Man: Brand New Day” is now open in theaters starting Friday.