In a photo finish, “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” has just missed out on the biggest opening weekend in history, at least according to official studio estimates. The Sony Pictures release earned a spectacular $350 million. A scant $2 million under “Avengers: Endgame’s” $357.1 million record in 2019. Despite coming that close, it’s still a jaw-dropping result for director Destin Daniel Cretton and franchise stars Tom Holland and Zendaya. Especially worldwide.
Globally, “Brand New Day” also came close to the biggest four-day opening weekend of all time, earning $927 million. It should cross the $1 billion mark on…Monday. Incredible results considering “The Odyssey” is still percolating in the marketplace.
In a statement, Tom Rothman, Chairman and CEO, Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, said, “This weekend’s historic worldwide results remind me of what Clarence wrote to George Bailey in ‘It’s a Wonderful Life ‘: ‘Remember, no man is a failure who has friends.’ ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ is fundamentally a movie about friendship, about the balm of connection in all our lives, and that is resonate to audiences of all ages and all around the world. In troubled times, Sony is very proud to have united the world in celebrating a film about hope. All of us at Sony Pictures are profoundly grateful to ALL the fabulous talent that produced such a landmark film, including Destin, Kevin, Amy and especially our treasured partner of over a decade, the incomparable Tom Holland.”
Amy Pascal, Producer, Pascal Pictures, remarked, “We’re incredibly grateful to audiences for embracing the bold creative and deeply emotional vision Destin took with this film. It’s exciting to see such a powerful response to a story that never lost sight of what makes Peter Parker so enduring—his humanity. This remarkable opening reinforces that moviegoers are hungry for stories that are both spectacular and deeply human, and we’re thrilled to see that resonate on such a global scale.”
Kevin Feige, Producer & President, Marvel Studios, added, “This is a truly phenomenal opening, and we are grateful to audiences everywhere for coming out and experiencing our film the way it was meant to be seen. This debut reflects the enduring power of Marvel’s characters, and the connection they continue to have with fans around the world—and, as audiences saw, it sets up exciting things to come.”
The last “Spider-Man” installment, “No Way Home,” eventually earned $1.92 billion. Sony and producing partner Marvel Studios are looking at potentially cracking the $2 billion mark this time around.
Domestically, the massive “Spider-Man” opening helped for a record overall box office weekend. All figures are still being tallied, but currently the total is at $428+ million, smashing the $402 million record during “Endgame’s” opening frame. To clarify, this is not a tickets sold or attendance record.
That was also thanks to the third weekend of Christopher Nolan’s aforementioned epic, which also stars Holland and Zendaya and pulled in another $51 million for $395.5 million domestic and a fantastic $911 million worldwide. That’s down just 43% stateside against monstrous competition. The Universal Pictures release should cross $1 billion in the next week.
Bravely opening up opposite “Spider-Man” in 670 theaters was Gregg Araki’s “I Want Your Sex.” Acquired by Magnolia Pictures out of Sundance, the Olivia Wilde and Cooper Hoffman sex comedy found $600,000 for a not-so-great $857 per-screen average. Counterprogramming can. be a sound strategy, but to suggest Magnolia should have opened this during a different time frame is an understatement. Wilde’s other film in theaters, “The Invite,” took in another $1.2 million for $22.7 million domestic so far.
In other news, Nicholas Winding Refn’s “Her Private Hell” went from 675 theaters in its opening weekend to 150 screens in its second. A drop was expected, but not a 90% drop from the previous weekend. That’s gasp-worthy. The Neon release took in just $53,400 in its second frame for $859,486 in the U.S. so far.
New films arriving in theaters on Friday include “One Night Only,” “Super Troopers 3,” “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Minosa,” and “Ice Cream Man.“
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