7/31-8/2: SPIDER-MAN's Superlatives

Aug 2, 2026

Sony and Marvel’s SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY opened with a truly spectacular $355.0M, the second best-domestic box office debut of all time. While this falls just short of AVENGERS: ENDGAME’s three-day domestic opening of $357.1M in April 2019, SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY did have the best opening day in history, earning $169.3M between Thursday preview screenings and its official opening day on Friday.

While much was expected of this film, its actual results exceed all pre-release forecasts, which pegged its in the $250M – $260M range. Together with yet another excellent weekend from Universal’s THE ODYSSEY which added $51.0M, the total for all films came in at $429.0M, the highest three-day domestic market total of all time. Here is where this weekend sits in the record books.

Highest-Grossing Domestic 3-Day Weekends of All Time

The same weekend last year produced a relatively puny $119.9M, led by THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS with $38.7M in its second weekend, a rather steep drop of 67% from its opening. The box office for this 31^st weekend of 2026 was more than three times the amount earned last year on this same weekend.

After a strong start to the year, the summer box office has fought hard to keep up the momentum and position the year to finish with an annual domestic box office above $9B for the first time since the pandemic. After SPIDER-MAN’s exceedingly strong opening and the strong possibility that its total run will reach $700M -$800M, we now expect the total 2026 domestic box office to reach $9.5B.

To further drive home the importance of SPIDER-MAN’s opening, the last four weeks of 2026 have run behind 2025 by 8% in box office and 11% in attendance. This comes despite the last two very strong weeks of THE ODYSSEY. So Spidey has arrived just in time to lift up the summer of 2026.

The Last Four Weeks – 2026 vs. 2025

#1 – SPIDER_MAN: BRAND NEW DAY

SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY eclipsed all other movies this weekend with a stunning $355.0M opening at the domestic box office. This makes it the second-highest domestic 3-day opening of all time, only trailing AVENGERS: ENDGAME, which earned $357.1M in its debut from April 26- 28, 2019. SPIDER-MAN has also impressed in global markets, earning an amazing $927.0M worldwide over the weekend, also the second highest total ever. Note that this happened without any IMAX screens playing the movie, since they were all still tied up showing THE ODYSSEY in its third weekend.

This Sony/Marvel joint production is the 11^th SPIDER-MAN movie in the history of the franchise. The previous eight live-action and two animated films have earned a domestic gross of $3.7B and $9.0B globally. With its impressive start, SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY could well become the series’ all-time box office champ. Here are the top SPIDER-MAN films so far.

Four Highest-Grossing SPIDER-MAN Movies

The franchise has shown an admirable ability to reinvent itself over time. Tobey Maguire’s trilogy established SPIDER-MAN as a modern theatrical blockbuster; Andrew Garfield’s two films kept the property internationally powerful; Holland’s MCU trilogy produced the franchise’s two B-dollar worldwide performers; and the animated SPIDER-VERSE films expanded the brand while earning exceptional reviews and an Academy Award for SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE (2018).

In a surprise move, Jon Watts, director, chose not to return after directing SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING (2017), SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME (2019) and SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME (2021). He stated at the time that he was “burnt out” on SPIDER-MAN and wanted to take his career in another direction. Marvel Studios and Sony then decided to take advantage of the opportunity to give the franchise a fresh creative voice with Destin Daniel Cretton. His previous directing credits include the independent drama SHORT TERM 12 (2013), the biographical drama THE GLASS CASTLE (2017), the legal drama JUST MERCY (2019) and Marvel Studios’ martial-arts adventure SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS (2021). Cretton was selected partly because of his ability to combine intimate character drama with large-scale action. His approach makes this film more focused on Peter Parker’s emotional condition and less dependent upon the multiverse spectacle that drove SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME (2021).

The terrific cast has Tom Holland returning as Peter Parker/Spider-Man. He is best known for his work in three previous MCU SPIDER-MAN films, UNCHARTED (2022), THE IMPOSSIBLE (2012) and THE ODYSSEY (2026). Zendaya returns as MJ, having risen to superstar status through her work in DUNE (2021), DUNE: PART TWO (2024), CHALLENGERS (2024) and the television series “Euphoria.” Jacob Batalon returns as Ned Leeds, while Sadie Sink joins the franchise in the major new role of Jean Gray. Sink is best known for her work in THE WHALE (2022) and the Netflix TV series “Stranger Things.”

Jon Bernthal appears as Frank Castle/The Punisher, a role he previously played in Marvel’s DAREDEVIL and “The Punisher” TV series on Netflix. His film credits include THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (2013), FURY (2014) and FORD V FERRARI (2019). Mark Ruffalo returns as Bruce Banner/Hulk and is best known for his work on the AVENGERS films, SPOTLIGHT (2015) and POOR THINGS (2023). Michael Mando reprises Mac Gargan, introduced in SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING (2017), while Tramell Tillman, known for “Severance” and MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING (2025), is another important addition.

The story begins after Doctor Strange’s spell at the conclusion of SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME (2021) caused everyone—including MJ and Ned—to forget Peter Parker’s existence. Peter has abandoned much of his personal life and committed himself to fighting crime full-time as Spider-Man. Although the public in New York recognizes Spider-Man, Peter lives alone and watches his former friends move forward without him.

The physical and emotional pressure causes a mysterious transformation in Peter that he may be unable to control. At the same time, a new psychic adversary emerges with the ability to enter people’s minds and manipulate their actions. Peter’s transformation may ultimately become the only weapon capable of stopping this invisible threat. The film also brings him into conflict with street-level criminals and with Punisher, whose violent methods sharply differ from Spider-Man’s moral code. The central themes are isolation, identity, accepting one’s differences, and deciding whether Peter Parker can rebuild a human life without abandoning his responsibilities as Spider-Man.

The early critical response has been very positive. The film holds a 90% Rotten Tomatoes score from critics and a 98% from the audience. The Los Angeles Times review explains, “Cretton seizes small moments to put his stamp on this installment. Just as Zendaya’s aspirational chill MJ insists she won’t work for some ‘soulless corporation,’ he’s quietly made a humanist super-flick.” Time Magazine weighs in by saying, “Brand New Day, at the very least, shows some awareness that actors, and not excessive, soul-killing special effects, are what will keep drawing us to the movies.” USA Today said, “While ‘Brand New Day’ might not be the most rambunctious or exciting of Holland’s Spider-flicks, it aims to be a little deeper than the average MCU installment while trapping you in its gratifying web.” Not everyone fell in love with the latest chapter, with Rolling Stone panning it by saying, “The movie keeps getting tangled in a complicated web of its own making, one that feels all too familiar after several decades of superhero cinema sucking up the cultural oxygen.”

The film carries a net production budget of approximately $225M, which is at the upper end of modern superhero productions and higher than the $200M spent to make the effects-heavy SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME from 2021. The extensive location work, large stunt sequences, lengthy principal photography, and ensemble cast contributed to the cost. This hefty price tag means that the movie needs to earn at least $560M in global ticket sales to reach profitability. However, the amazingly successful opening weekend of $927.0M globally it has already blown past this number, perhaps by the end of its first week. In fact, BRAND NEW DAY has a clear path to first-place finishes at the box office throughout the entire month of August. Other studios saw this coming and chose not to offer any major new releases in the upcoming month.

One other fact of note is the record-breaking $309M value in promotional partner tie-in campaigns. The massive 165 company tie-ins were led by BMW, Little Caesars, Samsung and ASUS computers. We have to believe these additional marketing efforts on behalf of the film had to enhance the film’s strong opening and will pay benefits for weeks to come.

For a comparison, we look to SPIDER- MAN: NO WAY HOME, which is the highest-grossing SPIDER-MAN film to-date. SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME opened on December 18, 2021, and dominated that year’s Christmas holiday box office, lasting well into the new year. BRAND NEW DAY has arrived towards the end of summer, and will only have a few weeks to play until schools begin to open around the country. With both films starting off strong, their relative position to each other will come down to how well each holds up over time.

SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY vs. SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME

#2 – THE ODYSSEY

While Spidey’s record-setting opening overshadowed all other movies, Christopher Nolan’s THE ODYSSEY was still able to earn an impressive $51.0M in its third weekend, falling 43% from last weekend and landing in second place. After 17 days, THE ODYSSEY has accumulated $395.5M domestically and $911.4M worldwide. It has already passed the total domestic run of OPPENHEIMER, which earned $330.1M in the summer of 2023. THE ODYSSEY has a chance to rise to the level of Nolan’s two highest grossing films, THE DARK KNIGHT and THE DARK KNIGHT RISES.

Six Highest-Grossing Christopher Nolan Movies

THE ODYSSEY continues to perform extremely well in foreign markets, with 57% of its total worldwide sales in its first 17 days coming from outside the U.S. and Canada. And among those international markets, the best is yet to come with a much-anticipated opening in China scheduled for August 14^th. Nolan is a highly respected filmmaker in China, where audiences have strongly supported his movies. INTERSTELLAR from 2014 earned $122.6M in China alone and we expect THE ODYSSEY to exceed that number. Universal reports that THE ODYSSEY will open in approximately 9,000 locations across China, which is more than 2/3^rd of all cinemas in the country. Those cinemas will allocate an estimated 25,000-35,000 screens to the movie. Most importantly, the film will be shown in 800 IMAX locations, which is virtually the entire IMAX China network. This massive launch could be just the ticket to carry THE ODYSSEY’s global box office past Nolan’s best to-date, the $1.085B earned by THE DARK KNIGHT RISES in 2012.

THE ODYSSEY has already beaten OPPENHEIMER’s domestic total box office of $330.1M and is rapidly closing in on OPPENHEIMER’s global total.

THE ODYSSEY vs. OPPENHEIMER after 17 Days

#3 – TOY STORY 5

TOY STORY 5 from Disney and Pixar was able to take third place in its seventh weekend by earning an additional $6.4M, a drop of 38% from last weekend. This brings its 45-day totals to $461.7M domestically and $1.066B worldwide. As the film may fall out of the Top Five next weekend, this is a good moment to reflect on the movie’s overall performance.

While the supremely successful SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY and THE ODYSSEY will soon pass it, TOY STORY 5 is currently the highest-grossing movie of 2026, both in North America and worldwide. Within its own franchise, TOY STORY 5 has passed TOY STORY 4 to become the highest-grossing TOY STORY movie.

TOY STORY 5 began with a franchise-record $159.7M domestic opening weekend, well above the $120.9M opening of TOY STORY 4. It also collected $152M internationally in its first three days, producing a tremendous $312M worldwide launch. At the time, this was the largest domestic opening of 2026 and the biggest opening weekend in TOY STORY history. The debut demonstrated that the franchise remains one of Pixar’s most dependable theatrical properties, despite the disappointing reception and box office results of the spinoff LIGHTYEAR in 2022.

The film’s international share—approximately 57% of its worldwide gross—shows that TOY STORY remains a powerful global brand. Nevertheless, its comparative strength has been greatest in North America, where nostalgia among adults, family interest and the return of Woody, Buzz and the established ensemble helped turn the movie into a genuine event.

Most importantly, TOY STORY 5 has been a major contributor to the 2026 box office with its $455M sales, beginning at the start of the summer moviegoing season. It has also gone a long way towards restoring confidence in Pixar after the LIGHTYEAR fiasco in 2022, which earned only $118.3M domestically and $226.4M worldwide. TOY STORY 5 has also allowed Disney to claim the top-grossing movie of the year as of this moment, surpassing Universal’s THE SUPER MARIO GALAXY MOVIE, which earned $429.8M.

Overall, TOY STORY 5 should be considered an exceptional box office success. It has extended a 30-year-old franchise, delivered its largest domestic result, crossed $1B worldwide and been one of the central reasons for the 2026 box office to maintain its momentum throughout the summer.

TOY STORY 5 vs. TOY STORY 4 after 45 Days

#4 – MINIONS & MONSTERS

MINIONS & MONSTERS from Universal and Illumination finished fourth, taking in $5.8M and dropping 41% during its fifth weekend. After 33 days, M&M has brought in $168.4M domestically and $450.0M worldwide. While many studios would be overjoyed to have a movie making these numbers, more was expected from the 7^th film in the DESPICABLE ME/MINIONS franchise. Its earnings are substantially below the standards set by earlier films in the series, with M&M’s $37.0M three-day domestic opening the weakest of the bunch. Opening on the Wednesday before the July 4^th holiday weekend, its five-day totals reached only $61.4M. MINIONS & MONSTERS also ranks as the franchise’s lowest-grossing movie in international markets. The original DESPICABLE ME (2010) earned approximately $543M worldwide, while every subsequent picture before MINIONS & MONSTERS exceeded $900M. MINIONS (2015) remains the franchise leader with $1.16B worldwide, followed by DESPICABLE ME 3 (2017) with $1.03B. DESPICABLE ME 2 (2013), DESPICABLE ME 4 (2024) and MINIONS: THE RISE OF GRU (2022) all finished between $940M and $971M worldwide. Therefore, even after allowing for some additional revenue in the weeks ahead, MINIONS & MONSTERS will finish with less than half the worldwide total of any recent entry.

That said, the contribution from international markets has saved the film from flop status, amounting to an extremely high 67% of its worldwide gross. However, M&M’s domestic total is less than half the $361M earned by DESPICABLE ME 4 and $371M collected by MINIONS: THE RISE OF GRU. This decline suggests that audiences are more interested in seeing stories about Gru and his family than in exploring another Minions-only adventure.

All of this said, the franchise will almost certainly continue. Its six previous films have generated billions of dollars in theatrical revenue, together with add-on income from merchandise, streaming views and theme-park attractions. Nevertheless, MINIONS & MONSTERS should be viewed as a warning. We recommend that Universal and Illumination wait a few years before releasing another movie in the series, and place the emphasis of new storylines on Gru.

MINIONS & MONSTERS vs. DESPICABLE ME 4 after 33 Days

#5 – MOANA

Disney’s MOANA fell from second to fifth place, taking in $5.5M and dropping 50% over its fourth weekend. This brings its 24-day totals to $114.8M domestically and $261.1M worldwide. The live-action MOANA has been a significant box office disappointment, particularly when measured against the enormous popularity of the franchise. Because it is still playing in theatres, those totals will increase, but the picture is unlikely to get close to the earnings of the two previous MOANA films. Its estimated $250M production budget, not including marketing expenses, makes it a substantial money-losing project.

MOANA opened domestically with $43.1M, considerably below the studio’s pre-release expectations that had hoped to see $60M or more. Although the film finished first for the weekend, its debut was below the $56.6M 3-day opening of the original animated MOANA (2016) and dramatically behind the $139.8M opening of MOANA 2 (2024). International results have also been underwhelming, with only slightly more than half of the worldwide total coming from outside the United States and Canada.

These comparisons become even more unfavorable when lifetime grosses are considered. MOANA (2016) earned approximately $248.8M domestically and $643.3M worldwide, while MOANA 2 was a true blockbuster with $460.4M domestically and $1.059B worldwide. The live-action MOANA will probably finish with less than ½ the domestic and worldwide totals of the original—and perhaps only about ¼ of the worldwide gross of MOANA 2.

However, the franchise itself is likely to survive, since this film’s failure can be attributed to the choice to create an unnecessary live-action remake, rather than a lack of interest in Moana herself. MOANA 2’s billion-dollar performance demonstrated enormous demand for the animated characters. Consequently, an animated MOANA 3 is probable, with Auliʻi Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson returning to voice the characters of Moana and Maui. While MOANA is still a powerful franchise, its 2026 live-action remake shows that even a beloved property can sputter if audiences feel that the same story is being served up for them again.

MOANA (2026) vs. MOANA 2 (2024) after 24 Days