Spider-Man: Brand New Day sets record for biggest opening weekend in North America at $462 million
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Tom Holland in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
PHOTO: SONY PICTURES
LOS ANGELES – Spider-Man: Brand New Day set an all-time record at US and Canadian box offices at the weekend, snagging US$360 million (S$462 million) to top the milestone set by 2019 superhero blockbuster Avengers: Endgame, according to ticket sales data released by Sony Pictures on Aug 3.
Around the globe, the movie brought in a total of US$932 million (S$1.2 billion) in ticket sales, the second-highest-grossing total in cinema history.
On Aug 2, Sony’s estimates suggested the new Spider-Man adventure would finish second domestically behind the Avengers movie, which opened with US$357 million before adjusting for inflation. The day’s ticket sales came in higher than expected to lift Spider-Man to the top of all-time box office charts, without accounting for inflation.
The film, which marks British actor Tom Holland’s fourth outing as the web-slinging superhero, depicts Peter Parker fighting crime in a world that has forgotten he is Spider-Man. Zendaya co-stars as MJ, the love of Parker’s life.
Audiences returned for a film that was grounded in Parker’s struggles with loneliness and his pursuit of human connection.
“Spider-Man: Brand New Day is fundamentally a movie about friendship, about the balm of connection in all our lives, and that is resonant to audiences of all ages and all around the world,” said Tom Rothman, chairman and chief executive of Sony Pictures Entertainment’s Motion Picture Group.
When adjusting for inflation, Avengers: Endgame still ranks as No. 1. The film brought in an inflation-adjusted US$1.6 billion in global ticket sales over its opening weekend in 2019, including US$467 million in the US and Canada.
Spider-Man is one of the most popular of Marvel’s comic book characters, with a cinematic appeal that endures even as audiences have shown signs of fatigue with the superhero genre.
The latest instalment has been well received, scoring a 90 per cent rating from critics and 98 per cent approval from moviegoers on Rotten Tomatoes.
Paul Dergarabedian, head of marketplace trends for Rentrak, said that the franchise is approaching the US$10 billion mark in unadjusted worldwide theatrical box office, which speaks to the character’s appeal.
Greg Durkin, founder and chief executive of the entertainment research firm Enact Insight, said the movie’s central themes of loneliness and isolation, and triumphing over drama, resonated especially with Gen Z filmgoers.
“There’s a mental health crisis now with young people in our country – it’s especially acute for young men. There’s a friendship crisis,” Durkin said.
“The pandemic created a bunch of shock-wave effects that we haven’t fully documented, much less addressed. This movie touches on some really important themes.”
The performance of Spider-Man: Brand New Day fuels an already-robust summer box office, which has been buoyed by major releases such as Toy Story 5 and The Odyssey.
Dergarabedian said on Aug 2 that the combination of Spider-Man: Brand New Day with another hit, The Odyssey, created the “all-time biggest domestic weekend” in movie theatres.
“There’s no better lead-in to this movie than The Odyssey,” Dergarabedian said. “Think of how many people around the world were in movie theatres being exposed to trailers marketing for Spider-Man: Brand New Day.”
Holland, Zendaya and Jon Bernthal appear in both movies.
The overall domestic box-office performance remains below pre-pandemic levels. Year-to-date receipts are up 10 per cent from 2025, but are 16 per cent below 2019, the year before the Covid-19 pandemic struck, according to data from Rentrak. REUTERS
