New Spider-Man film sees second-biggest ever global opening weekend
The film's strong performance gives a much-needed boost for Disney ahead of the highly-anticipated release of Avengers: Doomsday.
The new Spider-Man movie has achieved the second-highest global opening weekend in history.
"Spider-Man: Brand New Day" garnered $927 million (£687 million) in worldwide ticket sales, surpassing its estimated production budget of $225 million, making it the second-biggest opening weekend ever.
The superhero film, featuring real-life couple Tom Holland and Zendaya, is only outranked by "Avengers: Endgame," which earned over $1.2 billion during its opening weekend in 2019.
"Brand New Day" also secured the second-best North American record, with box office receipts totaling $335 million.
The film's robust performance provides a much-needed boost for Disney in anticipation of the highly-anticipated December release of "Avengers: Doomsday," following a series of Marvel movies that have underperformed in recent years.
"Brand New Day," which premiered in cinemas last week, is set a few years after 2021's "Spider-Man: No Way Home," as Peter Parker continues his fight against crime in a world where his identity as the masked superhero has been forgotten.
The latest installment of the immensely popular franchise has received largely positive reviews, with some critics hailing it as Holland's finest Spider-Man portrayal to date.
This film marks Marvel's final major big-screen release before "Doomsday," the long-awaited culmination of multiple superhero story arcs that began after "Avengers: Endgame."
Since "Endgame," Marvel films have struggled to attract the broad audiences they once did at their peak.
While big-budget productions like "The Marvels" and "The Thunderbolts" recouped their production costs, they were among the studio's lowest-grossing films.
Spider-Man remains one of Marvel's most lucrative franchises, with "No Way Home" generating nearly $2 billion in ticket sales.
Cinema attendance has declined since the Covid-19 pandemic, which accelerated the shift towards home-streaming options such as Netflix.
However, the big screen has experienced something of a resurgence this year, with North American box office takings on track to exceed $10 billion for the first time since 2019.
This recovery has been aided by blockbuster hits including "Toy Story 5," "Michael," and "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie," each of which has grossed over $1 billion.
July releases "Brand New Day" and "The Odyssey"—director Christopher Nolan's adaptation of the epic Greek poem—are also projected to surpass the $1 billion mark.
Independent horror films "Obsession" and "Backrooms" emerged as unexpected successes, each bringing in over $390 million despite their modest budgets.
Spider-Man fans are praising "Brand New Day" as Holland's best performance yet.
Zendaya commented on working with Tom Holland in Spider-Man: "When you’re best friends it’s easy."