Five weeks after crashing into cinemas, Spider-Man: Brand New Day has done it again — rewriting the record books with a domestic box office run that has outpaced even the mighty Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
The Tom Holland-led superhero adventure has become the fastest film in history to crack the $900 million (£668 million) mark in North American theatres, hitting the milestone in just 36 days. That trounces the 50-day record previously held by the 2015 Star Wars juggernaut, which itself shattered expectations a decade ago.
Industry analysts at Variety project a further $22 million (£16 million) windfall over the four-day Labour Day weekend in the United States, which would nudge the Marvel-Sony production past $922 million (£686 million). From there, the summit is in clear sight.
A record on the brink of falling
The all-time domestic crown currently rests with The Force Awakens, which closed its US theatrical run at $936 million (£697 million). For Brand New Day, that target now sits tantalisingly close — a matter of days, rather than weeks.
The trajectory has been relentless. Within just three weekends of release, the film had already stormed past $2 billion (£1.49 billion) worldwide, becoming only the eighth motion picture in history to scale that height. Its current global tally exceeds $2.33 billion (£1.74 billion), slotting it into third place on the all-time worldwide chart — behind only James Cameron’s Avatar ($2.9 billion / £2.16 billion) and Avengers: Endgame ($2.7 billion / £2.01 billion).
It has edged ahead of Avatar: The Way of Water ($2.3 billion / £1.71 billion) along the way, and left the previous Holland-era Spider-Man entry, 2021’s No Way Home, looking somewhat modest by comparison. That film finished its theatrical life at $1.9 billion (£1.41 billion) worldwide — close, but not quite crossing the coveted $2 billion line.
A hero’s payday
The blockbuster is proving enormously lucrative for its star. According to industry insiders speaking to The Wrap, Holland is on course to pocket more than $100 million (£74.5 million) for his turn as Peter Parker. The 30-year-old British actor reportedly received a $20 million (£14.9 million) upfront fee, with a further $80 million-plus in backend bonuses — payments triggered once the film recoups its production and distribution costs.
Given that Brand New Day has now well and truly surpassed that breakeven point, those bonus cheques appear all but assured.
Critical acclaim meets commercial dominance
It is not just audiences flocking to see it. Critics have largely embraced the film, too. In a four-star review, The Independent’s Clarisse Loughrey hailed Brand New Day as “the best Spider-Man movie in more than 20 years,” praising its sense of maturation — both for the character and the broader series.
She pointed to the contributions of returning screenwriters Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, alongside director Destin Daniel Cretton — previously behind Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings — and cinematographer Brett Pawlak, who together have, in her view, allowed the franchise to feel “completely revitalised.”
How the all-time top seven compare
The films that have cleared $2 billion at the global box office are a rarefied club:
- Avatar (2009) — $2.9 billion
- Avengers: Endgame (2019) — $2.7 billion
- Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) — $2.3 billion
- Titanic (1997) — $2.2 billion
- Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) — $2.07 billion
- Avengers: Infinity War (2018) — $2.03 billion
Brand New Day now sits just behind the two Avatar entries and Endgame, with weeks still left on its theatrical run.
Why it Matters
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is no longer simply a hit — it is rewriting the economics of what a superhero film can achieve. By outpacing Star Wars to the $900 million domestic milestone, the film signals that audience appetite for big-screen comic-book spectacle remains not just intact but accelerating, even amid a fractured theatrical landscape. For Sony and Marvel, the numbers validate a strategy built around Holland’s charm, a revitalised creative team, and a willingness to let the franchise grow up alongside its lead. And with Holland’s earnings set to cross nine figures and a third-place finish on the all-time global chart already locked in, Brand New Day has firmly established itself as the cultural — and commercial — event of the year.
