Spider-Man: Brand New Day received quite the friendly welcome in its opening weekend, as Sony Pictures‘ superhero feature starring Tom Holland and Zendaya got off to a spectacular start at the box office.
The movie scored a head-spinning $355 million from 4,487 North American screens to land as the second-biggest domestic launch ever. Analysts had been holding their collective breath all weekend in a photo finish between Spidey and Avengers: Endgame, as the latter’s $357.1 million opening from April 2019 ultimately hung on to retain its title as the No. 1 all-time domestic opening frame.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day created a slew of brand new records throughout the weekend, giving Sony its best opening ever. The movie’s historic $72 million from Thursday previews topped the previous best of $60 million in previews for Endgame. Brand New Day also set the record for the top opening Friday domestic sum with $168 million, surpassing Avengers: Endgame’s $156.7 million. Brand New Day took in $101.5 million on Saturday for the second-biggest tally ever on that day of the week.
“To be truly honest, it feels fantastic,” Sony Pictures chief Tom Rothman tells The Hollywood Reporter. As for what worked, he says, “You’ve just got to make a really, really great film. Now, there are other more mechanical factors. There hasn’t been one in five years, so scarcity has value. The audience is very, very connected with this character. It’s a very relatable story. No matter how old or young you are, everybody wants connection in the world. Everybody needs friends — and that’s what the movie is about.”
Indeed, the last time Holland led a feature as the web-slinger was Spider-Man: No Way Home, which opened to $260.1 million domestically and $587.2 million worldwide in December 2021. That film slips from its standing as the No. 2 highest-grossing domestic opening weekend ever as Brand New Day leaps past it. No Way Home’s staggering success — culminating with its $1.9 billion global total for No. 8 all-time — was seen as a tough bar to reach, given the buzzy appearances of past Peter Parkers in Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, along with the lack of major theatrical competition coming out of COVID.
The studio had initially been projecting a start of $195 million domestic and $465 million global for Spider-Man: Brand New Day that, while less amazing, would have still put the film among the top 10 all-time debuts. Hailing from producers Marvel Studios and Amy Pascal, it carries a $225 million production budget.
This staggering start follows recent debate over potential fatigue for franchise films, including those of the superhero variety, given that DC Studios’ Supergirl underperformed earlier this summer. After certain Marvel titles in recent years have come up a bit short of sky-high box office expectations, including last year’s Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts*, Brand New Day is a much-celebrated jolt and means that Marvel Studios is behind the top four domestic openings ever (with 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War at No. 4). It also provides momentum ahead of Disney’s star-packed Avengers: Doomsday hitting theaters this December.
Sadie Sink, Jacob Batalon, Jon Bernthal and Mark Ruffalo also star in the new movie from Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton. It centers on Marvel Comics’ signature hero as he endures a lonely life without his loved ones before an invisible enemy tracks him down.
Moviegoers have been impressed, as Brand New Day delivers a 90 percent approval rating from reviewers on Rotten Tomatoes, along with a 98 percent audience score. It earned an A CinemaScore from audiences. In his review for The Hollywood Reporter, chief film critic David Rooney praised “a never-better Tom Holland.”
Also opening in wide release over the weekend was filmmaker Gregg Araki’s I Want Your Sex, starring Olivia Wilde and Cooper Hoffman. Magnolia Pictures released the comedic thriller in 700 North American theaters after acquiring the movie in a reported seven-figure deal following its Sundance premiere. I Want Your Sex debuted with $600,000 for eighth place.
After leading the box office for the previous two weekends, Universal’s The Odyssey travels to second place with $51 million and a domestic total of $395.5 million. In what was likely a wise move, studios avoided releasing any titles last weekend to not risk falling between the imposing openings for Christopher Nolan’s mythological epic and Brand New Day.
Landing in third place is Pixar’s Toy Story 5, earning around $6.2 million to bring its domestic haul to $461 million. Fellow animated title Minions & Monsters collected $5.8 million to bring the Illumination movie’s domestic sum to $168.4 million.
More to come.
