A powerful one-two punch from “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” and “The Odyssey” has fueled the biggest collective weekend in box office history, with roughly $430 million across all movies in the marketplace.
Prior to this, the top three weekends were led by “Avengers: Endgame” ($402 million collectively), 2018’s “Avengers: Infinity War” ($314 million collectively) and 2015’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” ($313 million collectively). It’s a particularly exciting benchmark for the recently married Tom Holland and Zendaya, who star in “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” and “The Odyssey.”
“We have conquered a box-office milestone that seemed forever out of reach,” says Paul Dergarabedian, Rentrak’s head of marketplace trends. “This is now only the second $400 million-plus weekend in box office history.”
Michael O’Leary, President and CEO of Cinema United, said of the achievement, “Moviegoers across generations made this weekend one for the record books. Our industry is at its best when there is something for everyone to see on the big screen, and this year we are seeing what happens when the innovation and creativity on display in amazing movie theatres across the country and around the world is combined with a great slate of films.”
“Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” the fourth comic-book adventure starring Holland as the web-slinging hero, exploded with $355 million in its domestic debut, ranking as the second-biggest opening of all time as well as the second movie in history to cross $300 million in a single weekend. “Brand New Day” nearly matched the opening weekend record held by 2019’s behemoth “Avengers: Endgame,” which ignited to an astounding $357 million. (And some analysts believe “Brand New Day” could end up eclipsing “Endgame’s” record when final numbers are tallied on Monday.) “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” already scored the largest preview haul with $72 million, as well as the biggest opening day with $168 million.
However, “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” couldn’t have powered the overall weekend record alone. “The Odyssey” remained a force in its third frame with $51 million, a remarkable haul given the all-out frenzy around Peter Parker. Holdovers like Disney’s “Toy Story 5” and “Moana” and Universal’s “Minion & Monsters” also contributed to the fun.
“The combination of ‘Spider-Man’ and ‘The Odyssey’ — a legacy superhero sequel and a big original production — is taking the box office to new highs by a comfortable margin,” says David A. Gross, who publishes the box office newsletter FranchiseRe. “These are stunning numbers.”
“Spider-Man: Brand New Day” is the follow-up to 2021’s behemoth “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” which opened to $260 million (the third-biggest debut ever) and powered to $1.9 billion by the end of its run. And that was without China, a major market for Marvel movies. That film was huge because all three Spider-Men — Holland, Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield — shared the screen in a crossover event for the ages. Since “No Way Home” ended on a massive cliffhanger (Holland’s Peter Parker made the difficult decision to erase his identity from the world in order to save the multiverse), a ton of people have been waiting half a decade to find out what happens next. Critics and audiences were high on “Brand New Day,” which boasts a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes and “A” grade on CinemaScore exit polls — setting up the comic-book tentpole to dominate in theaters throughout the rest of August.
“The Odyssey” continues to shatter expectations, too. Christopher Nolan‘s Greek epic has generated a remarkable $911 million worldwide after less than a month in theaters. It’s less than a week away from crossing the billion-dollar mark, underscoring Nolan’s ability to transform his movies into cultural events. “The Odyssey” will also surpass “The Dark Knight” ($1.008 billion) and 2012’s “The Dark Knight Rises” ($1.08 billion) as the director’s highest-grossing film of all time. Not bad for an adaptation of a nearly 3,000-year-old poem.
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