What Spider-Man: Brand New Day Box Office Means for Superhero Fatigue

In all box office history, only eight movies have ever grossed over $100 million in their second weekend.

“Spider-Man: Brand New Day” is one of them. After a record-breaking opening weekend, the film had a spectacular hold in its second weekend at the box office, scoring $145 million domestic. It’s now on pace to become the first movie ever to cross $1 billion at the domestic box office before inflation adjustment, unseating “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” to top that particular box office record chart.

The positive reviews, Tom Holland/Zendaya/Jacob Batalon combo and five-year break between “Spider-Man” movies all coalesced into this tremendous success story for Sony and Marvel Studios.

But what does it mean for the superhero genre as a whole? Marvel has been in a rut since 2024’s “Deadpool & Wolverine,” and the disappointing box office of last year’s well-reviewed “Thunderbolts” would suggest that positive reviews and a fresh take on superheroes aren’t enough to get butts in seats (the Florence Pugh-starrer grossed just $382 million against a budget of $180 million).

Enthusiasm for “Avengers: Doomsday,” however, is rising as “Brand New Day” reminded Marvel fans how much fun it can be to root for a character/actor you’ve loved for years. Presales for the December release are strong. And the casting for Marvel’s new Gen Z “X-Men” reboot has the internet in a tizzy. Can “Doomsday” effectively reset the MCU once and for all, riding the wave of goodwill that “Brand New Day” started?

Marvel already has a leaner calendar next year, releasing just one film — “Doomsday” sequel “Avengers: Secret Wars” — but 2028 will be the true test when “Black Panther 3,” Ryan Gosling’s “Ghost Rider” and presumably “X-Men” all hit theaters. Disney is hoping for a much different result than 2025’s “Captain America: Brave New World,” “Thunderbolts” and “Fantastic Four” trio of disappointments.

And what of the non-Marvel superhero franchises? DC’s “Supergirl” crashed and burned just a month before “Brand New Day” exploded, and while the studio’s body horror “Clayface” has an outside chance at being a solid hit in October, no one’s expecting “Spider-Man” numbers. Next year’s “Superman” sequel “Man of Tomorrow” is the make-or-break film for James Gunn and Peter Safran’s rebooted DC.

Regardless, “Brand New Day” will continue to boost the box office in the weeks to come (alongside “The Odyssey,” which is also holding spectacularly), and you can rest assured that Sony and Marvel will be sitting down with Holland sooner than later to kick the tires on “Spider-Man 5,” which can’t come soon enough.

Now, on to the rest of this week’s Reel to Reel as we tackle Disney’s streaming embrace, David Ellison’s theatrical promise, spoiler culture, Warner Bros.’ AI ad and more.

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Box Office: ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ Reaches Stunning $1.67 Billion After 2 Weekends

Sony/Marvel Studios’ “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” is simply unstoppable at the box office, earning an incredible $145 million domestic and $381 million worldwide in its second weekend in theaters, bringing its global total to $1.67 billion.

With $655 million in the U.S. and Canada, the latest “Spider-Man” film has grossed more than any film in domestic box office history after 10 days of theatrical play, before inflation adjustment. It is now on pace to become the first film to gross $1 billion domestically, passing the all-time North American record of $936 million held by “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”

Overseas, the film continues to perform very well in China with $186 million, putting it on pace to join the top 10 highest-grossing Hollywood releases of all time in that country. That list only has two films released after the COVID-19 pandemic: “Avatar: The Way of Water” with $245.9 million and the Hollywood record holder “Zootopia 2” with $651.9 million.

“Brand New Day” is also now the highest-grossing Hollywood release ever in India, standing at $52.8 million. Other top countries include the U.K. with an $87.4 million total, Mexico with $65.8 million and France with $49.2 million.

At this pace, “Brand New Day” will reach the $2 billion mark sometime this week and will be on pace to join “Avatar” and “Avengers: Endgame” as only the third film to pass $2.5 billion before inflation adjustment.

Universal/Syncopy’s “The Odyssey” is in second with $31.5 million domestic, bringing its total to $461 million domestic and $1.1 billion worldwide. The latter total means that “The Odyssey” has passed the 2012 film “The Dark Knight Rises” as director Christopher Nolan’s highest-grossing release before inflation adjustment.

Of that $1.1 billion, $289 million has come from Imax screenings, making “The Odyssey” the highest grossing Imax film of all time with $37.5 million coming from the 41 worldwide locations screening the film in Imax 70mm through mid-September. While “The Odyssey” is now sharing the premium format with “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” the film still added $37.3 million worldwide from Imax screenings this weekend.

And even with “Brand New Day” dominating the global box office, “The Odyssey” still made $110 million globally from all screenings.

In third is Universal’s “One Night Only,” the highest grossing new release of the weekend with just $5.7 million from 3,012 locations. The romance film from director Will Gluck and starring Monica Barbaro and Callum Turner is opening just below the $6 million of Gluck’s leggy 2023 hit “Anyone But You,” but it remains to be seen if the word-of-mouth on this film about a couple in a world where the unmarried are only allowed to have sex one night each year will carry as far. “One Night Only” earned a B+ on CinemaScore and has a 72% Rotten Tomatoes audience score. – Jeremy Fuster

The Spotlight

Disney is going all-in on streaming. But what does that mean for the company as a whole? Regarding the film strategy, perhaps a hint came during last week’s earnings call when CEO Josh D’Amaro acknowledged that this year’s “The Mandalorian and Grogu” and “Moana” disappointed at the box office, but would ultimately create value elsewhere. In the case of “Mandalorian,” Disney pointed to the new tie-in ride in Disney World and Disneyland, and for “Moana” said it expects the title to perform well on Disney+. The flywheel is in motion. Read the full story here.

New Releases

David Ellison’s Promise: Paramount has offered to put David Ellison’s commitment to releasing 30 films in theaters a year after the WBD acquisition in writing.

Being Tony: Dominic Sessa opened up to our Casey Loving about how embodying a young, “miserable” Anthony Bourdain in “Tony” mirrored his post-“Holdovers” life a little too closely.

Spoiler Culture Problems: William Bibbiani wrote a spoiler review of “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” and in it discussed the difficulty of adequately reviewing blockbusters for which spoilers are forbidden from being discussed.

AI Backlash: Warner Bros. created an AI-generated ad for “The End of Oak Street,” and the internet was not pleased.

Burning Spidey Questions Answered: Drew Taylor spoke to the “Brand New Day” screenwriters about their Marvel tenure and the latest Spider-Man movie — and broke the news that they’re working on “Avengers.”

Sex Positive: “One Night Only” director Will Gluck talked to Andi Ortiz about why he feels the rom-com never died — and the particulars of his “The Sex Purge” movie’s premise.

Concession Stand

The internet is HOT for Alexander Skarsgard’s wicker husband in “Wicker.” Black Bear could have a sleeper hit on its hands.

“The Odyssey” is now Christopher Nolan’s third movie to cross $1 billion. Can you name the other two without looking?

Gareth Edwards won’t return to direct “Jurassic World Rebirth.” So who’s next to get a crack at Spielberg’s dino franchise? I’d love to see Edgar Wright take a swing…

David O. Russell’s John Madden movie, starring Nicolas Cage and Christian Bale, won’t get a wide theatrical release and will instead debut on Prime Video.

Sony Pictures Classics rescued Maude Apatow’s “Poetic License” from Row K, which was unable to release the film as planned earlier this year.

The trailer for A24’s “Primetime,” starring Robert Pattinson, is excellent.

The Tom Cruise/Brad Pitt “Interview With the Vampire” will be getting its first-ever 4K Blu-ray release on Sept. 22 from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, just in time for Halloween.

Streaming Corner

• You know how Hallmark Christmas movies are a massive hit for a specific demographic every November and December? Loree Seitz spoke with the president of Hallmark to learn how the network is building a streaming future — and gaining new, younger fans in the process.
• Disney is exploring adding a free tier for Disney+, but which movies and shows would be on it?
• Netflix will have its longest theatrical window ever when it releases Spanish-language Cannes hit “La bola negra” this fall, giving it a berth of over 45 days before it’s on the streamer.

What I’m Watching

I rewatched “Obsession” this weekend with my wife (it’s streaming on Peacock, FYI, but it’s also available on Blu-ray!) and man, that holds up. Curry Barker’s original horror is tremendously unsettling, yes, but it’s also such a damning indictment of “nice guys” who cross a line in how they think about women. Inde Navarrette is spectacular and heartbreaking and horrifying all at once, and I think a big reason Barker’s film exploded at the box office is that it leaves you with so much to chew on afterward. The kind of movie you want to talk about, dissect and debate with your friends in the parking lot long after the credits roll.