‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ nets second best North American opening ever
with $355 million
[August 03, 2026]
By LINDSEY BAHR
“Spider-Man: Brand New Day” made box office history in its first weekend
in theaters. The Sony-released superhero movie became the second-biggest
North American opening ever with an astonishing $355 million in ticket
sales, according to studio estimates Sunday. It was just a few million
shy of “Avengers: Endgame,” which debuted to $357 million in 2019.
The film also made $572 million from over 73,500 screens
internationally, with China contributing $121 million alone, adding up
to a $927 million worldwide debut that is second only to “Endgame” ($1.2
billion).
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 $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 $1 billion mark.
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 $51 million. Their combined might helped propel the biggest weekend
of all time for North American movie theaters, with an estimated $430
million in total ticket sales, according to Rentrak.
“Spider-Man: Brand New Day” started strong, with a record $168 million
opening day from 4,487 theaters in the U.S. and Canada, besting
“Avenger: Endgame’s” $157 million Friday. The studio predicted it would
lead to a $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 $260 million in December 2021. In the realm of best
opening weekends in North America, they’re followed by “Avengers:
Infinity War” ($257 million in 2018) and “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”
($247 million in 2015).
Expectations were always high for “Brand New Day,” which was directed by
Destin Daniel Cretton and cost a reported $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.
Ticket buyers were predominately male (about 61%) and many were on the
younger side, with slightly more than half the audience under the age of
25, according to PostTrak exit polls. The biggest group was between the
ages of 18 and 24, which made up 36% of the audience; 27% were between
the ages of 25 and 34. The box office analytics company EntTelligence
estimates that about 24.1 million people attended “Spider-Man: Brand New
Day” this weekend.
It’s also the biggest ever opening for Sony Pictures.
Tom Rothman, the Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group,
praised “the incomparable Tom Holland” in a statement. Rothman famously
pushed back the production of the movie to allow Holland to act in “The
Odyssey” as well.
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 $1.3 billion.
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Tom Holland and Zendaya pose for photographers upon arrival at the
'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' premiere in London, England, Wednesday,
July 29, 2026. (Photo by Alberto Pezzali/Invision/AP)
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.”
This year has also seen a resurgence of moviegoing from younger
audiences, who have made hits out of movies like “Obsession,”
“Backrooms” and “The Drama,” which also starred Zendaya.
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 $395.5 million domestically, bringing its global total to
$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 $4 billion globally thanks in part to
“Michael,” which it distributed internationally, and “The Super Mario
Galaxy Movie.”
A slew of animated PG-rated holdovers rounded out the top five: “Toy
Story 5” was in third place with $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 $2 million,
“Hadestown: The Musical” surpassed “Hamilton” to become the highest
grossing live theater capture release ever with a running total of $18.2
million.
Paul Dergarabedian, the head of marketplace trends for Rentrak, said the
“Spider-Man” effect could help the summer movie season surpass the $4
billion mark for the first time since the Barbenheimer summer of 2023,
and the third-ever billion dollar August.
“This is perhaps the most important summer moviegoing season in the
history of the business,” Dergarabedian said. August, he added, "could
set up a home stretch of the box office year like no other and one that
could push us over that $10 billion mark."
Top 10 movies by domestic 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,” $355 million.
2. “The Odyssey,” $51 million.
3. “Toy Story 5,” $6.3 million.
4. “Minions & Monsters,” $5.8 million.
5. “Moana,” $5.3 million.
6. “Hadestown: The Musical,” $2 million.
7. “The Invite,” $1.2 million.
8. “I Want Your Sex,” $600,000.
9. “Young Washington,” $477,727.
10. “Obsession,” $470,000.
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