Spider-Man Breaks all the Records
The newest Spider-Man movie completely destroyed the box office. Let's dive in!
With 360 million domestically, Spider-Man: Brand New Day officially surpassed Avengers: Endgame (357 million) to the biggest domestic opening of all time. It’s simply remarkable. Yes, the movie was always poised to do great business, but nobody expected these results. Most people expected somewhere around 200-250 million, which was also a fantastic number, but the movie exploded beyond anyone’s expectations.
The movie is also huge overseas too. The movie has grossed 581 million overseas, for a worldwide opening of 932 million, the second biggest worldwide opening of all time, behind only Avengers: Endgame (1.2 billion). As of now, it seems that the 2 billion is a question of “when” and not “if”, and who knows, maybe the movie can even come close to 3 billion.
How did it happen? I mean, this is not a mega event movie like Avengers: Endgame or even Spider-Man: No Way Home (which saw the returning of previous Spider-Men and their villains). This is simply a stand alone street level Spider-Man adventure, that’s it.
I have some explanations for you:
Spider-Man is the most popular superhero
Everyone simply loves Spider-Man, parents, children, families, etc. It’s a character that every single person can identify with, way more than other characters like Batman (we’re talking about a billionaire vigilante) or Superman (a super powerful alien). This movie is actually the best definition of a four-quadrant film.
The goodwill from the last movie
The last movie, Spider-Man: No Way Home, which was released in 2021, received amazing reviews from both critics and audiences (93% on Rotten Tomatoes, “A+” at CinemaScore), and grossed over 1.9 billion worldwide. Not only that, the ending of the movie basically rebooted the Spider-Man story and gave him a completely fresh start.
A long gap between the movies
The gap between this movie and its predecessor was nearly 5 years, the longest since Spider-Man 3 and Amazing Spider-Man (2007-2012) – people got really hungry for more Tom Holland Spider-Man, and we haven’t seen him in any Marvel / Sony project during that time, which made his new chapter way more thrilling and exciting
The reviews are great
Reviews are phenomenal from both critics (90% on Rotten Tomatoes) and audiences (“A” at CinemaScore), and everyone praises the fantastic directing of Destin Daniel Cretton and the portrayal of Tom Holland.
Incredible word-of-mouth
Audiences are rushing to see it, and tell everyone that “this is the street-level Spider-Man you’ve been waiting for!”. The fact that this is a movie that features a street-level Spider-Man story like in the comics is a very big draw, and some people even rank this movie as the best Spider-Man movie, which really helps the hype.
The marketing was great
The trailers (which also broke viewing records) showed the audience a fresh take on the beloved character – from unique swinging scenes, to creative action sequences and a very different atmosphere, and of course, the whole secrecy around Sadie Sink’s character. These trailers did exactly what they should have done – they sold a brand new and captivating Spider-Man chapter, one you can’t miss on the big screen.
It’s a fantastic crowd-pleaser
At the end of the day, this is the perfect blockbuster. It’s fast-paced, has relatable characters, incredible action sequences, great visual effects, and most importantly – tons of heart and passion. This is one of the main reasons why I believe this movie will have tons of rewatches in theaters.
So yes, Spider-Man just broke the records, it will be interesting to see how it holds in the upcoming weeks.