8/14-8/16 - SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY Swings Even Higher

Aug 16, 2026

SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY from Sony and Marvel is clearly the defining box office story of 2026. In the 33^rd weekend of the year, the tenth Spider-Man feature in its third weekend remained firmly in first place by taking in an additional $70.0M. With additional support from Universal’s THE ODYSSEY in its fifth weekend and Warner Bros.’ THE END OF OAK STREET and Paramount’s PAW PATROL: THE DINO MOVIE in their openings, the domestic gross for all films this weekend reached $160.1M. Not only is SPIDER-MAN flying high itself, but it appears to be lifting the late-summer box office for all other films at a time of the year when business usually slows down.

This overall performance compares favorably with the 33^rd weekend of 2025, when all films earned $90.7M, led by the second frame of Warner Bros.’ horror hit WEAPONS, which earned $24.5M. This marks the third consecutive weekend in which 2026 has outperformed the year before. Not coincidentally, that winning streak coincides with the first three weekends of SPIDER-MAN, demonstrating how a high-profile event film can energize the entire market.

The late-summer surge has put this month on a track to becoming the highest-grossing August in box office history. This is especially significant because studios have traditionally thought of August as a secondary release corridor, coming after the early summer tentpole season and before the heart of the fall schedule. Sony and Marvel have shown that audiences will turn out in large numbers at the end of the summer when given a movie with buzz and character familiarity.

The record-breaking run of SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY offers two more indications that theatres are finally hitting their stride in a sustained recovery. For seven years, the domestic box office has been unable to break through the $9B annual box office ceiling. Based on the success of 2026 so far, we have increased our full-year projection to $9.7B, which would be a 12% improvement over 2025. This year-over-year increase has been fueled by studios delivering a consistent flow of new releases with broad audience appeal.

The momentum should continue next weekend, considering the fact that the comparable weekend of 2025 generated only $78.6M, led by KPOP DEMON HUNTERS which earned $18.0M in its first three days. With SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY still commanding the marketplace and other new releases providing additional support, 2026 will outperform last year for a fourth consecutive weekend. For the moment, the beat goes on—and SPIDER-MAN continues to set the tempo.

THE LAST FOUR WEEKS – 2026 vs. 2025

#1 – SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY

SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY continued to outpace all other movies by earning $70M in its third weekend, a decline of 51% from last weekend. This brings its 17-day totals to $785.8M domestically and $2.022B worldwide. We are running out of superlatives for the film, which is setting numerous box office records. It took only 16 days to pass the $750M domestic box office milestone, which is faster than any other movie in history. The following chart illustrates its climb at $50M increments.

The Highest Flying Film of All-Time

In the past seven days, SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY has passed the domestic gross of BLACK PANTHER, which earned $700.4M in 2018, TOP GUN: MAVERICK, which earned $722.0M in 2022 and now AVATAR’s $785.2M from 2009. After 17 days, SPIDER-MAN stands as the fourth highest-grossing movie of all time at the domestic box office. Here are all the films on the that prestigious list of top-grossing movies of all-time.

5 Highest-Grossing Movies of All Time at the Domestic Box Office

The only impediment to SPIDER-MAN’s continued success is the calendar. As of tomorrow, August 17^th, 50% of U.S. students from kindergarten to 12^th grade will have restarted classes in the new school year. One week later, by August 24^th, that number grows to 70%. While the weekends will still be busy, the weekday business, which has been so strong for SPIDER-MAN, will shrink dramatically. The finishing touches on SPIDER-MAN’s historic run will depend on how long it can maintain ticket sales with less than a 50% drop from the week before, the mark of a strong performer. A stellar audience response and various industry reports point to repeat viewing playing a role in SPIDER-MAN’s extraordinary performance, which should help it continue its successful run. The movie will continue to play at most of its current locations through the middle of September. Because we expect SPIDER-MAN to rise even higher on the all-time list, we are adding the #1 film of all time to our comparison title, STAR WARS: EPISODE VII – THE FORCE AWAKENS from 2015.

SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY vs. SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME and STAR WARS: EPISODE VII – THE FORCE AWAKENS after 17 Days

#2 – THE ODYSSEY

Universal’s THE ODYSSEY continues its epic box office journey to finish in second place for the third weekend in a row by adding $23.2M, a drop of only 27% from last weekend. After 31 days, the film has brought in $504.7M domestically and $1.291B worldwide. Last Sunday, it surpassed THE DARK KNIGHT RISES as director Christopher Nolan’s highest-grossing film of all-time. One personal milestone that the movie has yet to reach is to become Nolan’s top-grossing domestic movie of all time, which is still held by THE DARK KNIGHT which earned $539.4M domestically in 2008. After this weekend, THE ODYSSEY has is just shy of $35M from THE DARK KNIGHT’s domestic total.

Christopher Nolan’s Six Highest-Grossing Movies

For a comparison film, we are switching from OPPENHEIMER to THE DARK KNIGHT RISES. Although OPPENHEIMER appeared to be a solid comparison film before THE ODYSSEY opened, the performance of Nolan’s movie based on Homer’s classic tale has wound up outperforming his OPPENHEIMER by a significant margin.

THE ODYSSEY vs. THE DARK KNIGHT RISES after 31 Days

#3 – THE END OF OAK STREET

THE END OF OAK STREET, the science fiction survival thriller from Warner Bros., finished in third place in its opening weekend by taking in $21.0M domestically. The film combines suburban family drama, time travel, creature horror and the nostalgic atmosphere of Steven Spielberg’s Amblin productions. It was produced by J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot and Jackson Pictures. Warner Bros. lists J.J. Abrams, Hannah Minghella, Jon Cohen, David Robert Mitchell, Matt Jackson and Tommy Harper among the producers.

Writer-director David Robert Mitchell is best known for the critically acclaimed horror picture IT FOLLOWS (2015). His other features are the coming-of-age drama THE MYTH OF THE AMERICAN SLEEPOVER (2011) and the unconventional mystery UNDER THE SILVER LAKE (2019). THE END OF OAK STREET is Mitchell’s first new feature in approximately eight years and reunites him with IT FOLLOWS’ cinematographer Michael Gioulakis.

Anne Hathaway plays Denise Platt, a mother trying to hold her family together. Hathaway’s best-known films include THE PRINCESS DIARIES (2001), THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA (2006), THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2012), LES MISÉRABLES (2012) and INTERSTELLAR (2014). Ewan McGregor portrays her husband, Greg, and is best known for TRAINSPOTTING (1996), MOULIN ROUGE! (2001), BLACK HAWK DOWN (2001), the STAR WARS prequel trilogy of movies THE PHANTOM MENACE (1999), ATTACK OF THE CLONES (2002) and REVENGE OF THE SITH (2005). Maisy Stella from MY OLD ASS (2024), and Christian Convery from COCAINE BEAR (2023) play their children, Audrey and Brian.

The story begins in 1982 with the Platt family already embroiled in internal tensions. During a neighborhood block party, a mysterious cosmic disturbance tears Oak Street out of its familiar suburban setting and deposits the entire neighborhood in a prehistoric environment. As the temperature rises and unfamiliar plants and creatures appear, the residents discover that dinosaurs are roving and hunting in their streets. Denise, Greg, and their children must overcome their differences and work together if they hope to survive and solve the mystery of how they were transported into the prehistoric past.

Critical reaction has been generally positive; Rotten Tomatoes reports an 86% critics’ score from 221 reviews and a 78% verified-audience score. Here is what the critics are saying. The Wall Street Journal describes, “The director, David Robert Mitchell, dismisses plausibility and sticks to a refreshingly modest goal: dumb fun. Once it gets going, ‘Oak Street’ makes the audience squirm, scream and laugh for nearly an hour, and I had a great time.” The Film Verdict opined that the film, “Isn’t a particularly good movie unto itself, but it contains the making of three or four potentially interesting ones of wildly varying genres.” Rolling Stone weighs in with, “It’s not a question of whether or not they make ’em like this anymore. You’re just stoked they were able to make something like this at all right now.” Of course, not everyone is a fan; Mashable flat-out didn’t like the film, saying, “If you’re looking for carefree summer fun, look elsewhere. ‘The End of Oak Street’ is not fun. It’s bleak, brutal, and ultimately infuriating.”

With a reported $80M production cost, the film is not a low-budget play. The actors are A-List, and the special effects were critical to the filmmaker’s vision. The movie underwent an unusually long two years of post-production, much of it necessary to integrate dinosaurs and prehistoric environments into the suburban footage. The film’s release was moved several times—from May 2025 to March 2026 and finally to this weekend in August when IMAX locations were available. Warner Bros. also made a smart decision by changing the name of the movie from its original title FLOWERVALE STREET to THE END OF OAK STREET, evoking the physical end of the neighborhood and the destruction of its residents’ suburban life. We contend that this name change alone will help the movie’s gross. It will need it, as the movie will not break even from ticket sales until it hits $200M worldwide. Based on a solid opening weekend, the film could get there.

For our comparison picture, we have settled on SUPER 8 (2011). Both movies are original J.J. Abrams-associated science-fiction adventures in which an ordinary suburban community confronts an extraordinary creature threat. Both also combine endangered children, troubled families, period settings and an unmistakable Amblin-Spielberg influence.

THE END OF OAK STREET vs. SUPER 8

#4 – PAW PATROL: THE DINO MOVIE

PAW PATROL: THE DINO MOVIE, the animated children’s film from Paramount, finished in fourth place in its opening weekend, securing $20.5M domestically and $47.0M globally. This is the third theatrical feature based on Spin Master’s enormously successful preschool franchise. The picture was announced in September 2023—three days before the release of the second movie—and reunites Paramount Animation, Nickelodeon Movies and Spin Master Entertainment. Each installment has moved the pups into a different cinematic genre: an urban adventure in the first film, superheroes in the second and dinosaurs and jungle exploration in the third. The television property itself debuted in 2013 and has generated more than $15B in worldwide retail sales, with the movies playing a key role in spurring related toy sales.

PAW PATROL: THE MOVIE earned $13.1M in its domestic opening weekend, which began on August 20, 2021, and finished its theatrical run with $40.1M domestically and an impressive $144.3M worldwide. This performance was particularly encouraging because it opened while moviegoing was still recovering from COVID-19 and was made available simultaneously to stream on Paramount+. PAW PATROL: THE MIGHTY MOVIE opened in theatres on September 29, 2023. It debuted with $22.7M, finished with $65.3M domestically and $205.1M worldwide. Compared with the first film, its domestic opening increased 73.1% and its domestic total rose 62.8%, and its worldwide gross increased 42.1%.

Added together, the two earlier PAW PATROL movies have grosses of $105.5M domestically and $349.4M worldwide. That is an excellent performance when compared with a combined production cost of only $56M, 26M for the first film and $30M for the second. The franchise stands with a very desirable 6 to 1 ratio of worldwide box office gross to production cost.

Cal Brunker directed and co-wrote PAW PATROL: THE DINO MOVIE with his longtime writing partner Bob Barlen. Brunker also directed the two earlier PAW PATROL movies as well as ESCAPE FROM PLANET EARTH (2013) and THE NUT JOB 2: NUTTY BY NATURE (2017). He additionally co-wrote SON OF BIGFOOT (2017) and BIGFOOT FAMILY (2020). His background as an animator and storyboard artist—including work on DESPICABLE ME (2010)—helps explain the franchise’s emphasis on clearly staged action that remains understandable to very young children.

The voice cast is led by Carter Young as Marshall, the clumsy but persistent firefighting pup who becomes the emotional center of the story. Mckenna Grace returns as Skye; she is best known for her work on GIFTED (2017), GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE (2021) and GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE (2024). Hayden Chamberlen voices Rex, a wheelchair-using Bernese Mountain Dog and dinosaur expert, while Rain Janjua voices Chase and Henry Bolan becomes the new voice of Ryder.

The celebrity cast includes Jennifer Hudson, the Academy Award-winning star of DREAMGIRLS (2006) and RESPECT (2021); Terry Crews, known for WHITE CHICKS (2004) and THE EXPENDABLES (2010); Fortune Feimster, who appeared in OFFICE CHRISTMAS PARTY (2016); Jameela Jamil, heard in DC LEAGUE OF SUPER-PETS (2022); Bill Nye, best known as the television personality “Bill Nye the Science Guy”; Paris Hilton, who appeared in HOUSE OF WAX (2005); and Snoop Dogg, whose films include TRAINING DAY (2001) and STARSKY & HUTCH (2004). Ron Pardo again voices both Captain Turbot and Mayor Humdinger. The Backstreet Boys recorded the original song “Bottle Up” for the soundtrack; it was co-written by Ed Sheeran and Savan Kotecha.

The plot unfolds when their Paw Patrol ship is caught in a mysterious storm. Ryder and the pups crash-land on an uncharted tropical island populated by dinosaurs. There they meet Rex, a pup who has been stranded there for years and has become an authority on prehistoric creatures. Mayor Humdinger arrives and begins recklessly mining the island’s natural resources, accidentally awakening a dormant volcano. The team must undertake its largest rescue operation yet while saving the dinosaurs, stopping Humdinger and preventing the island’s destruction. Marshall repeatedly makes mistakes during the mission, but his refusal to quit turns his familiar clumsiness into the foundation of the film’s message about perseverance.

The early critical reception is the best of the three theatrical installments. PAW PATROL: THE DINO MOVIE holds an early 81% Rotten Tomatoes critics score based on only 26 reviews and an enthusiastic audience score of 96%. Critics generally agree that it is colorful, energetic and carefully designed for preschool children, with a simple but worthwhile message about persistence. Some negative reviews regard it as overly commercial and forgettable for adults. For comparison, PAW PATROL: THE MOVIE (2021) currently has 82% from critics and 97% from audiences, while PAW PATROL: THE MIGHTY MOVIE (2023) has 71% and 93%, respectively.

PAW PATROL: THE DINO MOVIE was made for an estimated $40M budget, slightly higher than the $30M reported for PAW PATROL: THE MIGHTY MOVIE (2023). The continuing Canadian production base, established character models, and experienced returning crew help keep costs far below those of most major animated features. It will take $100M in global ticket sales to become profitable and based on its opening weekend of $47.0M globally, it should easily accomplish this.

The strongest comparison film is PAW PATROL: THE MIGHTY MOVIE (2023). Both are late-summer or early-fall Paramount releases aimed primarily at preschool children, combining established pups with celebrity guest voices and using a larger theatrical concept to expand the television series.

PAW PATROL: THE DINO MOVIE vs. PAW PATROL: THE MIGHTY MOVIE

#5 – KATSEYE: WILD HEARTS

KATSEYE: WILD HEARTS, distributed by Trafalgar, opened in fifth place with a weekend total of $4.0M. The film is an 80-minute music documentary chronicling the rapid rise of KATSEYE, the multinational girl group created through HYBE and Geffen Records’ Dream Academy project. Dream Academy was an international talent search created to form a new global girl group using the intensive training-and-development system associated with K-pop.

More than 120,000 young women are reported to have applied to participate. Twenty contestants from different countries were selected and trained in singing, dancing, stage performance and teamwork. During a 12-week public competition in 2023, they completed performance “missions,” while a combination of company judges and online fan voting determined who advanced. The process concluded with a live finale in Los Angeles on November 17, 2023.

The six winners—Daniela Avanzini, Lara Raj, Manon Bannerman, Megan Skiendiel, Sophia Laforteza and Yoonchae Jeung—became KATSEYE. The group was designed to combine HYBE’s K-pop-style artist-development system with Geffen’s experience marketing American pop music. Although trained through a K-pop model, KATSEYE is considered a global pop group rather than strictly a Korean K-pop act.

The behind-the-scenes documentary is directed by Nadia Hallgren. Hallgren is an Emmy-nominated documentary filmmaker and cinematographer whose previous directing credits include AFTER MARIA (2019), the Oscar-shortlisted documentary about Puerto Rican families displaced by Hurricane Maria; BECOMING (2020), following Michelle Obama’s book tour; and CIVIL: BEN CRUMP (2022), about the prominent civil-rights attorney. She also directed the documentary series POP STAR ACADEMY: KATSEYE (2024) and VICTORIA BECKHAM (2025). KATSEYE: WILD HEARTS (2026) represents Hallgren’s first feature released theatrically.

The documentary stars KATSEYE members Daniela Avanzini, Lara Raj, Megan Skiendiel, Sophia Laforteza, Manon Bannerman and Yoonchae Jeung as themselves. They are musicians rather than established film actors, so none has a significant previous feature-film résumé. They are best known onscreen for appearing in POP STAR ACADEMY: KATSEYE (2024), the Netflix documentary series about the demanding competition and training program that created the group. Manon and Sophia appear through previously filmed material, although neither participated in the movie’s principal contemporary interviews because both were on hiatus from group activities.

The film traces KATSEYE’s progression from the pressure and uncertainty of Dream Academy to international pop success. Hallgren combines new interviews, rehearsal and backstage footage, archival material and videos submitted by the group’s fans—known as EYEKONS. The documentary examines the sacrifices, injuries, online criticism and emotional strain experienced by the members while celebrating their friendship, resilience and increasingly close relationship with their worldwide audience. It also follows the initially divided reaction to “Gnarly,” the song that eventually became an important breakthrough, and introduces the group’s new musical era surrounding its third EP, WILD.

Critical coverage has been extremely limited. Rotten Tomatoes does not yet have enough published reviews to assign a Tomatometer score; only one approved review is listed. The film’s verified audience Popcornmeter stands at 89% from more than 100 ratings.

Based on an estimated $3M production, the film does not have to earn very much to justify that investment. $7.5M in worldwide box office would do the trick. With a domestic opening of $4.0M and broad worldwide appeal, the film should easily make money. For a comparison film, we are going to use ONE DIRECTION: THIS IS US (2013) as it follows a young, internationally assembled pop group as its members adjust to sudden global fame, intense touring and an extremely devoted youthful fan base.

KATSEYE: WILD HEARTS vs. ONE DIRECTION: THIS IS US