“Spider-Man: Brand New Day” swung to the top of the box office charts with a whopping $355 million debut — the second-biggest opening weekend in domestic box office history.
Combined with the ongoing draw of Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey,” which pulled in another $51 million this weekend, the two blockbusters delivered a one-two punch that made this the biggest box office weekend ever.
“It reminds me a bit of the Barbenheimer phenomenon, where you had two movies creating this fervor around moviegoing, and that plays very well,” said Paul Dergarabedian, head of marketplace trends at box office analytics company Rentrak.
Together, the two films’ $406 million weekend outpaced the box office record set by “Avengers: Endgame,” which opened to $357 million in 2019.
The hype for Sony and Marvel’s “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” is a worldwide phenomenon: The film amassed $927 million globally in its opening weekend alone.
It’s the fourth installment in the Tom Holland-led iteration of the franchise within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The star-studded movie racked up a 90% critic approval score and a 98% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Anticipation for Nolan’s “The Odyssey,” meanwhile, ran so high that many fans ordered their tickets more than a year in advance, while others scrambled for resold tickets or settled for 2 a.m. showings just to get in.
Dergarabedian said the numbers signal that the tides have once again turned for movie theaters, which in recent years struggled to bounce back from lower post-pandemic attendance, Hollywood labor strikes and the increasing dominance of streaming.
But in recent years, theaters have begun to make a comeback by turning new releases into social events with themed merchandise and opportunities to dress up.
“It’s unbelievable, when you think about it, that we could even get to a number like this,” Dergarabedian said. “I never thought we’d see another $400 million weekend overall, and I never thought we’d see another $300 million opener domestically. It seemed like an insurmountable mountain to climb.”
He said the success of these two films caps an “incredible” year for movie theaters overall: “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” “Michael” and “Toy Story 5” have each grossed more than $1 billion, while smaller films like “Obsession” and “Backrooms” have also fueled interest in moviegoing — particularly among young people.
All of this sets up a likely $4 billion summer and $10 billion year, Dergarabedian said, which could make 2026 the highest-grossing summer and the highest-grossing year since 2019.
“The movie theater has become like the go-to outside-the-home place for entertainment, and there’s no denying it,” he said. “So many people have counted out the movie theater for so long. I think this puts to rest any notion that people don’t want to go to the movie theater. They absolutely do.”