Spider-Man has officially defeated the Avengers.
“Spider-Man: Brand New Day” opened this weekend to an estimated $360 million, setting a new all-time record. The film surpassed the $357 million opening weekend record set by “Avengers: Endgame” in 2019, staging a comeback for Marvel Studios after nearly a decade of box office disappointments.
At the worldwide box office, “Brand New Day” launched to an estimated $932 million — a figure most films never reach over their entire theatrical run. It now ranks as the second-highest global opening of all time, trailing only “Endgame,” which debuted with $1.2 billion.
The film blazed past several more records during its opening weekend, including the biggest preview haul with $72 million and the largest opening weekend with $169.8 million.
It was also a historic weekend for the box office as a whole. Alongside the record-breaking performance of “Brand New Day,” “The Odyssey” maintained its momentum in its third weekend, earning an estimated $51 million and helping drive total domestic ticket sales to at least $425 million — the biggest weekend in box office history.
“It’s unbelievable, when you think about it, that we could even get to a number like this,” Paul Dergarabedian, head of marketplace trends at box office analytics company Rentrak, told NBC News. “I never thought we’d see another $400 million weekend overall, and I never thought we’d see another $300 million opener domestically. It seemed like an insurmountable mountain to climb.”
“Brand New Day” also earned overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics and audiences, positioning Marvel for a long-awaited resurgence after a string of sluggish releases, including flops such as “Eternals” and “Captain America: Brave New World.”
Audiences gave the film an A on Cinema score. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film currently holds an impressive 98% score from audiences and a 90% score from critics.
Critics praised the film for taking a step away from the tired Marvel blueprint, leaning into an emotional focus and exceptional performances from its leading stars Tom Holland and Zendaya.
Forbes called the movie “refreshing,” Screen International said the film is a “consistently smart, thrilling blockbuster” and The New York Times praised Holland’s performance as “winsome and wonderfully kinetic.”
Several critics agreed that despite the film’s few weak spots, it’s been the now-rare success for Marvel Studios and could set the studio up for a much-needed fresh start.
The Independent said the film “offers a maturation not only of its hero, but of the franchise’s entire vision, too.”
And The Mercury News wrote, “‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ isn’t that elixir to magically pull superhero films out of the convoluted rut they’ve been stuck in, but it is a decent step in the right direction.”
“There are many, many, many people going to see the movie,” Tom Rothman, Sony Pictures CEO, told The Hollywood Reporter. “What’s far more important to me, and what is far more significant, is the response. The audience loved the movie. That’s way more important to me than this record or that record.”
As the ninth live-action installment in the Spider-Man franchise, “Brand New Day” reinforces the character’s status as both a fan favorite and a box office powerhouse.
The Spider-Man films remain the only non-Avengers films to rank among Marvel’s five highest-grossing films, highlighting the web-slinger’s enduring popularity and his role in the studio’s continued success.
Holland’s Spider-Man era has proven to be one of the franchise’s greatest successes, with three of his four solo films occupying the top three spots among the franchise’s highest-grossing releases. His appeal now extends beyond the Marvel universe, with Holland leading the two films with the biggest domestic openings this year: “The Odyssey” and “Brand New Day.”
If both films maintain momentum, they will likely surpass $1 billion at the global box office, further fueling this summer’s box office resurgence.
“This now sets up a tremendous month of August, and the likelihood of a $4 billion summer and a $10 billion year just went up exponentially with this milestone summer weekend,” Dergarabedian told Deadline.
A combination of reliable blockbuster franchises, such as Pixar’s “Toy Story 5″ and Universal’s “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” as well as a handful of low-budget breakout hits like “Obsession” and “Backrooms,” have fueled the strongest summer for Hollywood in seven years.
Despite a pair of box office disappointments — “Supergirl” and “Moana” both underperformed — the summer’s momentum has been sustained by a range of hits, including “Michael,” “Toy Story 5,″ “Disclosure Day” and “Minions & Monsters.”
The box office’s resurgence is expected to carry through the year, with several major releases still on the horizon.
A slate of blockbusters landing this fall and early winter — including “Practical Magic 2,” “Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping,” “Avengers: Doomsday” and “Dune 3″— are poised to keep audiences returning to theaters in the months ahead.
“The summer box office is incredibly important,” Dergarabedian said. “It’s vitally important in terms of what the overall health of the industry looks like and what that portends for the entire year.”