With Historic $927 Million Global Opening, Tom Holland Proves He Is the Ultimate Spider-Man | Analysis

Handling disgruntled phone calls is part of the job of a Hollywood studio exec, but Sony Pictures film chairman and CEO Tom Rothman got one such call that any exec would love to have. It was his nephew, complaining to him that every single New York screening of “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” he looked up was sold out, and he desperately needed help getting a ticket.

“Not a single theater seat in Manhattan was empty!” Rothman told TheWrap on Saturday. “My nephew was begging, ‘Uncle Tom, get me a ticket!’ and I had to tell him that there was nothing I could do. He complained I was useless, but I’ve been called worse things,” he said with a laugh.

Rothman’s declaration about the scarcity of tickets is not hyperbole. In cities around the world, movie theaters showing “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” were selling out screenings at a rate that no other film in the modern theatrical market has ever achieved … except one.

That film, of course, was “Avengers: Endgame,” which in 2019 earned a $357 million domestic opening weekend that nobody, including Rothman, ever thought would be approached again. But “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” has done the impossible, topping that domestic record with a $358 million start that is part of a $927 million global launch that sits only behind the $1.22 billion global take of “Endgame” and is 54% ahead of the $600 million global launch of “Spider-Man: No Way Home” in 2021.

How was this possible? There are three reasons: Tom Holland, Zendaya and Jacob Batalon. Nine years after they first appeared together in “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” the trio behind Peter Parker, his girlfriend, MJ, and his best friend, Ned, have endeared themselves to hundreds of millions of fans around the globe, with Holland proving that he is the ultimate Spider-Man. The combination of their chemistry with the pre-existing popularity of Spider-Man elevated the franchise to the same level of the Avengers.

Rothman already knew that popularity was surging thanks to “No Way Home,” which had its huge opening amidst a COVID-19 variant surge that kept older moviegoers home. But even though the Hollywood veteran has long espoused his belief that “rumors of the death of theaters were greatly exaggerated,” not even he was optimistic enough to think that “Brand New Day” could pull off “Endgame” numbers.

“Just think of everything our industry has been through with the pandemic, and then even more so with the strikes. The challenges theaters have faced have been so immense,” Rothman said. “‘Endgame’ came out in a completely different world. I truly didn’t think we would ever see any film open to $350 million domestic again.”

A massive start

It has indeed happened, and the primary reason why “Brand New Day” did not also beat the $1.22 billion global opening record earned by “Endgame” is because of China, where “Endgame” opened more than $200 million higher than “Brand New Day” with $329 million over five days.

Still, the $121 million five-day start for “Brand New Day” in China is a remarkable mark considering that moviegoers in that country, with a few notable exceptions, have largely moved away from Hollywood films in favor of local productions. In addition, “No Way Home” did not get a theatrical release in the country, which meant that longtime Marvel fans had to watch the film at home to get caught up for “Brand New Day.”

The fact that they still showed up demonstrates how globally popular Spider-Man is even at a time when other superhero films like “Supergirl” and “The Marvels” have flopped and even well-received films like “Superman” and “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” have had to settle for global grosses between $500 million and $650 million.

The history of the 21st-century box office was written in web 24 years ago, when Tobey Maguire and Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man” became the first movie ever to earn a $100 million-plus opening, launching the modern superhero craze and summer box office season as we know it today. In the years since, Sony has released 12 “Spider-Man” films in theaters, including the animated “Spider-Verse” trilogy that concludes with next year’s “Beyond the Spider-Verse.”

Combined, the “Spider-Man” films — not counting “Venom” and other spinoffs — have grossed more than $10 billion worldwide. By the time “Brand New Day” and “Beyond the Spider-Verse” complete their runs, that total will exceed $12.5 billion.

The definitive Spider-Man

But while Tobey Maguire set the foundation, and “The Amazing Spider-Man” star Andrew Garfield and “Spider-Verse” voice actor Shameik Moore have built on that work, it is Holland who has become the definitive Spider-Man. With seven appearances over 10 years, his MCU version of Peter Parker has lasted longer than any other cinematic incarnation of the character and, in doing so, has left a legacy that is not just unique among Spider-Men but among the MCU’s horde of beloved actor/character duos as well.

When Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans began their work as Iron Man and Captain America, they had the challenge of bringing comic book characters from the page to the screen for the first time and making them globally beloved. But they also had the advantage of not having a preceding actor whose shoes they had to fill in. When Holland made his MCU debut in “Captain America: Civil War,” there was eager excitement to see Spidey come back, but there was also the question: could he emerge from Maguire’s shadow?

Clearly, the answer is yes. When “No Way Home” opened to $600 million, one could certainly chalk up that huge box office start in good part to the millennial nostalgia of seeing Maguire and Garfield team up with Holland, as well as seeing the return of past Spidey villains like Alfred Molina’s Doc Ock and Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin.

But “Brand New Day” had no nostalgia to lean back on, and while the film does set up future MCU films through Sadie Sink’s spoiler-heavy antagonist, Sony and Marvel did not sell the film on that tease. Instead, “Brand New Day” was sold simply as a follow-up to the tragic ending of “No Way Home,” when Peter Parker was forced to erase himself from the memories of everyone who ever knew him, including MJ and Ned.

The erasure of those relationships, which Holland, Zendaya and Batalon had fostered over three films, left audiences desperate to see if Peter could reconnect with the only two people left alive that he still cared for after the death of his beloved Aunt May, or if he would be forced to swing around Spider-Man as a loner. It is a film that puts the humanity of the hero at its center, and Rothman believes it is the key to its success.

“It took me a while to realize it, but this is a movie about friendship. About human connection and the power of it. That’s what makes it so relatable,” Rothman said. “It makes us who we are, and Tom, Zendaya and Jacob have that connection, and we relied on that to sell it, and here we are. I give Tom so much credit for embodying this character. He was deeply involved in the writing of the script for this film and he has said in interviews and to us, that every ‘Spider-Man’ film is really about Peter Parker. He’s always understood that.”

Gen Z still loves Spider-Man

The largest demographic for “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” was the 18-24 segment, which made up 36% of this historic opening weekend crowd. This is the demographic that was in elementary and middle school when a fresh-faced Peter Parker was pulled into the world of the MCU by Tony Stark in “Captain America: Civil War” and gleefully made a video gushing about his brand new Spider Suit and stealing Captain America’s shield in “Homecoming.”

In the years since, as those Gen Zers have come of age amidst a pandemic and political and economic turmoil, they have watched Peter Parker get turned to dust and come back from oblivion. They’ve watched him lose Tony Stark, lose his aunt, lose his friends, and get beaten and bloodied multiple times and come back for more. And they showed up around the world again this weekend — and will keep doing so in the weeks to come — to see Peter figure out who he and Spider-Man truly are.

All of this was possible because of Holland’s commitment and the chemistry of Zendaya and Batalon creating on-screen bonds that fans desperately wanted to see renewed, even if things between Peter and his friend and girlfriend could never go fully back to the way they were. In PostTrak surveys, 58% of attendees said they saw “Brand New Day” because they are “Spider-Man” fans, but 41% said that the film’s cast was a major reason for seeing the film, with 39% identifying Holland specifically as a major reason and 29% identifying Zendaya as a major reason.

Much has been written about how actors have been supplanted by IP as Hollywood’s biggest tool for selling blockbusters, but the truth has always been, especially with superhero films, that both are needed. The world loves Spider-Man no matter how tired they may be of other superhero films. But “Brand New Day” is performing like an “Avengers” movie because the world loves this Spider-Man, more so than any Spider-Man that has swung across the silver screen before.

In 2019, when the partnership between Sony and Disney that allowed Spider-Man to be a part of the MCU was at risk of falling apart, Holland personally appealed to Rothman and Disney’s then-CEO Bob Iger, urging them to come back to the negotiating table and find a way forward for the franchise. At the time, the MCU was fresh off the $2.7 billion run of “Endgame” and looked unstoppable, even if losing its most popular hero seemed like a dent in the armor.

Seven years later, the MCU has lost much of its fan goodwill, suffering box office missteps that once seemed unheard of and left hoping that the upcoming “Avengers: Doomsday” can get things back on track. Sony, while finding mid-budget successes with films like “It Ends With Us” and overseas hits with Crunchyroll’s “Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle,” is in need of a major tentpole franchise to help boost numbers while it develops new franchises through its catalog of Playstation video games.

And here comes Spider-Man to save the day. For Sony. For Marvel. For all of moviegoing. Tom Holland is a true box office hero. The Ultimate Spider-Man.