Spider-Man is already webbing up a massive box-office haul.
Sony and Marvel’s “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” secured $72 million in preview ticket sales, the highest collection for any domestic film in Hollywood history. The previous record holder was 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame,” which tallied $60 million ahead of its opening weekend.
“The demand for ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ is nothing short of astonishing,” said Paul Dergarabedian, head of marketplace trends at Rentrak. “For a film to earn more than $70 million in pre-shows is unprecedented, and it reflects massive enthusiasm among moviegoers to head to the multiplex for the latest Marvel epic.”
The newest solo Spider-Man film starring Tom Holland benefited from Wednesday early access screenings as well as Thursday night previews. It is expected to haul in around $270 million domestically over its debut weekend, although some box-office analysts foresee an even bigger bounty.
The previous Spidey flick, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” currently stands as the second-highest domestic opening of all time with $260 million across its debut weekend in 2021. “Endgame” tallied $357 million during its first three days in theaters in 2019. “Brand New Day” is expected to surpass “No Way Home,” but remain behind “Endgame.”
“While pre-shows are a very strong indicator of potential opening-weekend success, several factors can come into play, including a heavily front-loaded preview and opening day driven by fans motivated by the shared urgency of opening-weekend FOMO [fear of missing out],” Dergarabedian said.
“Endgame” managed its historic opening weekend with the help of 24-hour showings and extra screenings. There are late-night and early morning screenings of “Brand New Day” to meet demand for tickets, but it’s unclear if the programming is on the same scale as it was for “Endgame.”
And, “Brand New Day” does not have the added benefit of an Imax release, as those screens have been reserved for Christopher Nolan’s and Universal’s “The Odyssey.”
The Spider-Man installment will still benefit from premium large format screenings, however. The film has been programmed for ScreenX, 4DX, Dolby Cinema and HDR by Barco as well as premium offerings that are proprietary to the likes of AMC, Regal, Cinemark and regional players.
ScreenX represented $1.8 million in Thursday ticket sales domestically and is expected to reach $4 million by the end of the weekend. Meanwhile, 4DX has tallied around $1.3 million domestically and is set to hit $4.5 million over the three-day debut.
“Brand New Day” arrives at the tail end of July, and the bulk of its box office will be reflected during the month of August. That’s good news for the domestic box office. Typically, August is the softest month on the summer movie calendar. With “Brand New Day,” the theatrical industry gets a momentum boost heading into the fall movie season.
The domestic box office has collected $5.6 billion in ticket sales this year through Sunday. That’s 16% behind 2019 levels, the last benchmark before the Covid pandemic shuttered movie theaters and paused productions.
However, the 2026 summer corridor is down just 9% from the 2019 comparison, standing at $3.05 billion versus $3.36 billion seven years ago.
That gap could narrow even further with Imax extending coveted screenings of “The Odyssey” into September and as “Brand New Day” plays through the rest of summer.
Still to come is the November release of Lionsgate’s “The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping” and the hotly expected double feature of Warner Bros.’ “Dune: Part Three” and Disney’s “Avengers: Doomsday” due in theaters Dec. 18.
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