'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' earns $927 million, misses 'Avengers: Endgame' record by $2 million
The picture took in $355 million in US and Canadian theatres over the weekend, more than double this year’s previous biggest debut, April’s The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.
Distributed by Sony Pictures Entertainment and produced in partnership with Walt Disney Co.’s Marvel Studios, Brand New Day trails Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame in terms of all-time biggest opening weekends by only $2 million. That 2019 picture went on to gross $2.8 billion at the global box office.
The new Spider-Man film took an additional $572 million in theatres internationally, setting all-time opening records in markets that included France, India and Brazil, according to Sony.
While some other superheroes have stumbled in theatres, Spider-Man has never lost his powers. Sony’s films based on the character have grossed billions of dollars since the early 2000s and the everyman-turned-crime stopper has become a crucial fixture in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Hollywood’s most successful franchise in history.
Sony has managed to keep the characters fresh, substituting different actors for the lead role and introducing new villains to attract younger generations of viewers. It has also experimented with the format, including two animated films that also performed well. A TV series that reimagined the character as a film noir detective starring Nicolas Cage aired on Amazon’s Prime Video this year.
The current film is a departure from the multiverse theme that populated some of Marvel’s earlier instalments, instead telling a story about an isolated man torn between his duty to serve the city and his desire for personal connection.
That plot line resonated with audiences. Brand New Day scored 90% with critics and 98% with regular viewers according to Rotten Tomatoes. The film, which was forecast by industry tracker Boxoffice Pro to open to at least $280 million in ticket sales.
“This remarkable opening reinforces that moviegoers are hungry for stories that are both spectacular and deeply human, and we’re thrilled to see that resonate on such a global scale,” Amy Pascal, one of the producers of the film, said in a statement.
The performance of Brand New Day strengthens an already buoyant summer for cinema chains, which have benefited from the release of Obsession and Backrooms — two low-budget, blockbuster titles from popular YouTube creators — a new Toy Story picture, a Michael Jackson biopic and Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey.
Brand New Day actors Holland, Zendaya and Jon Bernthal also star in The Odyssey.