Sony and Marvel Studios’ Spider-Man: Brand New Day has set an all-time record for first-day takings at the North American box office, grossing $168 million on Friday, including previews, surpassing the previous high of $157.4 million held by Avengers: Endgame, per deadline.com.
The film is now on course for a three-day opening weekend of between $325 million and $350 million-plus, positioning it as the second-best domestic debut ever, behind only Endgame’s $357.1 million.
Industry estimates suggest the film needs to clear $105 million on Saturday to have a realistic chance of overtaking Endgame’s all-time opening record. Its pure Friday gross, excluding previews, reached $96 million, close to Endgame’s equivalent $97.4 million. Sunday takings are expected to dip 10–15% from Saturday, a smaller decline than Endgame’s -17% drop in 2019.
Regardless of the final tally, the opening is already the biggest in Sony’s history, far exceeding “Spider-Man: No Way Home’s” $260.1 million debut in 2021. It also marks a career-best domestic opening for director Destin Daniel Cretton and co-star Zendaya, and the second-highest for Tom Holland after Endgame.
Premium large-format screens accounted for 24% of the weekend gross, with 3D contributing 17%, though the family-friendly film is not reliant on premium formats, drawing most audiences to standard 2D screens. Notably, the film is breaking records without any Imax screens, which remain committed to Warner Bros/Legendary’s “Dune: Part Three.”
Audience exit polling from Screen Engine/PostTrak shows an 88% definite-recommend score and an A CinemaScore rating, both slightly below No Way Home’s figures. The 18–24 age bracket made up the largest demographic share at 36%, with a 61-39% male-female split. Of those surveyed, 58% cited franchise loyalty as their reason for attending, while 41% went for the ensemble cast.
Internationally, the film opened at the top of the Chinese box office with more than $71 million since its Wednesday debut, a market where its predecessor, “No Way Home,” was never cleared for release.
Elsewhere, Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” continues to perform strongly in its third weekend, taking $51 million, down 43%, for a running total of $396.5 million at 3,861 theatres. This represents the best third-weekend hold of Nolan’s career, with the film on track to become his second-highest domestic grosser after “The Dark Knight’s” $534 million.
Across all releases, the North American box office is set for a record weekend, with combined takings estimated at $434 million, surpassing the previous high of $402 million set during Endgame’s opening weekend in April 2019.
°Featured image: Tom Holland as Spider-Man/Sony Pictures