411 Box Office Report: Spider-Man: Brand New Day Soars To Second-Biggest Domestic Start Ever

It was an historic weekend at the box office as Spider-Man: Brand New Day nearly set the all-time domestic opening record. The latest film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe opened with a massive $355 million domestic start, blowing way past expectations that had it in the $250 million to $260 million range. The launch is just $2 million less than the all-time #1 domestic opening, which was set by Avengers Endgame in May of 2019.

The opening is, obviously, a record for the Wall-Crawler and beats Spider-Man: No Way Home’s $260.1 million launch from December of 2021. The analyst already seemed low heading into the weekend; Sony had been estimating the film at around $195 million, but studios very often downplay their expected launches so that the weekend isn’t a disappointment. Still, few people expected that it would get as close as it did to the record — and it must be said that it would not be hard for final numbers to come in a little higher and allow it to overtake Endgame for the #1 spot.

The appeal here was obvious. Spider-Man has been one of the MCU’s most lucrative franchises, and anticipation has been incredibly high for Brand New Day for a while. Fantastic Four: First Steps was viewed as a comeback for Marvel after Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts* were viewed as disappointments, but this is the official Marvel comeback in a real way. It doesn’t hurt that the film released right after a bunch of Avengers: Doomsday reveals at San Diego Comic Con, which put the MCU back in the forefront of fans’ minds in a positive way. And critics’ assessments certainly helped; they love Brand New Day with a 90% aggregate score on Rotten Tomatoes, while audiences adore it as well with a 98% RT audience rating and A- CinemaScore.

Spidey wasn’t just a hit in the US, either. The film scored $572 million overseas for an eye-popping $927 million worldwide start. Needless to say, this is a megahit for Marvel and Disney, and with no major competition for a while, an $800 million domestic total is very likely if not more. The film cost $225 million — barely more than half of Endgame’s budget — and is already a bonanza just based on that.

Impressively, The Odyssey didn’t waver much in the face of the superhero competition. Christopher Nolan’s epic fell to #2 of course but eased just 43% to $51 million. That is a huge statement for the film, which some expected to have a heftier drop as Spider-Man thwapped away all the oxygen in the space. Odyssey can partially thank its grip on IMAX theaters for that, but it’s also a statement on how well it’s being received in general.

The film is now at $395.5 million domestically and $911.4 million worldwide, huge numbers against a $250 million budget. We’re probably looking at somewhere around $500 million for its final domestic total, which would make it Nolan’s second-best US numbers behind only The Dark Knight ($536.6 million). While that total is possibly insurmountable, Odyssey will pass its $1.01 billion worldwide back pretty easily as well as The Dark Knight Rises’ $1.085 billion.

Toy Story 5 was down just 38% in its seventh weekend bring in $6.3 million. The Pixar sequel has now reached $461.7 million domestically and $1.065 billion worldwide, just $6 million away from surpassing Toy Story 4 as the highest worldwide grossing film in the franchise. Of course, this is a hit against its $250 million budget and will make it to around $475 million by the end of its run.

Minions & Monsters was down a solid 41% in its fifth weekend, adding $5.8 million to its coffers. The Universal animated sequel has reached $168.4 million domestically and $449.6 million worldwide, very profitable against an $85 million production budget. It’s probably finishing out at about $180 million.

Moana dopped 50% in its fourth weekend to garner $5.3 million. We’ve already spoken at length about how this Disney live-action remake is a money loser for the studio and that isn’t changing, with $114.8 million stateside and $261.1 million worldwide against a $250 million budget. It should close out around $125 million in the US.

Hadestown: The Musical has a predictable drop as it tumbled 80% after its strong first weekend, grossing $2 million. Again, filmed versions of Broadway musicals are a niche product and Blecker Street already got what they wanted out of this after it opened better than expected. After all, the film was originally intended to be gone from theaters by the start of the weekend. The filmed production is now at $18.2 million, a fine result, and won’t be around next frame.

Olivia Wilde’s The Invite finally slipped a bit as it slid 51% in its fourth weekend of wide release to $1.2 million. The A24 romcom is already profitable at $22.8 million in the US and $38.5 million worldwide. It should still end its run around $25 million stateside.

Meanwhile, Wilde’s starring role in I Want Your Sex was quieter. The Magnolia Pictures erotic comedy thriller, which also stars Cooper Hoffman, opened in 700 theaters to just $600,000. Call this a matter of bad timing; the studio probably didn’t expect that they would be competing against another, higher profile comedy starring and directed by Wilde.

I Want Your Sex did have some buzz around it; critics are enjoying it with an 89% RT aggregate. But it just got overshadowed by bigger studios and bigger films, and the concept is a bit less mainstream than the more general romcom that The Invite is. No word on its budget, but this one will have to wait to find its audience on digital.

Evil Dead Burn bottomed out in its fourth weekend, dropping 81% to $527,000. The film is in decent financial shape with $31.3 million stateside and $66.3 million worldwide against a $20 million budget, but it is a far cry from Evil Dead Rise’s totals ($67.4 million domestic, $147.3 million worldwide). It will finish a touch under $33 million in the US.

Young Washington closed out the top 10 with $478,000, down 75% in its fifth weekend. The Angel Studios film is at $46.4 million, good enough for a $20 million budget.

To zero surprise, Spider-Man will remain on top next weekend as a smattering of smaller new releases arrive. Eli Roth’s latest horror film Ice Cream Man is looking at the low single digits, while Super Troopers 3 and the romcom One Night Only will be in the high single digits.

Box Office Top Ten (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)

1. Spider-Man: Brand New Day – $355 million ($355 million total, $927 million worldwide)
2. The Odyssey – $51 million ($395.5 million total, $911.4 million WW)
3. Toy Story 5 – $6.3 million ($461.7 million total, $1.065 billion WW)
4. Minions & Monsters – $5.8 million ($168.4 million total, $449.6 million WW)
5. Moana – $5.3 million ($114.8 million total, $261.1 million WW)
6. Hadestown: The Musical – $2 million ($18.2 million total, $18.2 million WW)
7. The Invite – $1.2 million ($22.8 million total, $38.5 million WW)
8. I Want Your Sex – $600,000 ($29.2 million total, $600,000 WW)
9. Evil Dead Burn – $527,000 ($31.3 million total, $66.3 million WW)
10. Young Washington – $478,000 ($46.4 million total, $46.4 million WW)