“Spider-Man: Brand New Day” has become the highest-grossing movie in domestic box office history, surpassing “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” after the J.J. Abrams film had held the record for a decade. Sony’s Tom Holland vehicle crossed the threshold this week with a running North American total of $936.7 million, edging past “Force Awakens” at $936.6 million just 47 days after opening.
Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group chairman Tom Rothman sent staff a note marking the milestone, calling it a moment that makes history rather than just another number on a chart. The achievement caps a summer run in which the Destin Daniel Cretton-directed sequel has rewritten the domestic record book at nearly every stage, from the biggest opening weekend ever at $360 million to the fastest climb through every hundred-million mark between $400 million and $900 million.
Globally, the film stands at roughly $2.45 billion, putting it third on the all-time worldwide chart behind “Avatar” and “Avengers: Endgame.” Its international haul of $1.108 billion already tops “Spider-Man: No Way Home” as Sony’s biggest performer overseas, and the film’s $932 million global opening remains the second-largest ever recorded, trailing only “Endgame’s” $1.22 billion debut in 2019.
Holland stars alongside Zendaya, Sadie Sink, Jacob Batalon, Jon Bernthal and Mark Ruffalo in a story that finds Peter Parker isolated and hunted by an unseen adversary. The film’s success has fueled a record-breaking season at the box office broadly: this summer’s combined domestic haul reached roughly $4.77 billion, topping the previous high mark set in 2013. Rothman has pointed to the film as proof that reports of theatrical moviegoing’s demise were premature, arguing repeatedly this year that audiences still show up when a film delivers.
Sony now turns its attention to this weekend’s release of Zach Cregger’s “Resident Evil” reboot, which the studio is projecting to open between $40 million and $50 million domestically and around $80 million worldwide, a mark that would set a new franchise record of its own. “Avengers: Endgame” is due for a theatrical rerelease later this month, a run expected to widen its remaining lead over “Brand New Day” on the global chart.
