“Spider-Man: Brand New Day” swung to China’s strongest superhero opening in seven years on Wednesday, taking in more than $16.5 million by midday and putting it on pace for a first-day haul near $37.4 million, according to ticketing platform Maoyan. No American comic-book film has opened that big in the country since “Spider-Man: Far From Home” pulled in $36 million there in 2019.
Maoyan projects the film will finish its China run around $255 million, a figure that rival tracker Dengta puts even higher, above $265 million. A result in that range would mark Hollywood’s best China gross since “Avengers: Endgame” hit theaters in 2019, edging past “Avatar: The Way of Water.” Presales alone reached $18.6 million, the strongest for an imported title in three summers.
The Chinese box office has proven inhospitable to superhero franchises in recent years. Regulators barred Marvel releases from the market for nearly four years starting in mid-2019, and “Spider-Man: No Way Home” never opened there at all after officials reportedly objected to the Statue of Liberty’s prominence in its climax.
Titles that have played since the ban, including “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” and “Venom: The Last Dance,” topped out in the $90 million range. Sony and Marvel countered that trend by giving China the earliest release date anywhere, two days ahead of North America, along with an exclusive Imax rollout. Tom Holland and Zendaya traveled to Shanghai last week for the local premiere.
Momentum has built domestically as well. Early tracking pegged the film’s opening weekend near $190 million, but forecasts have climbed sharply in recent days on surging presales, with some analysts now projecting a domestic debut between $260 million and $300 million against a worldwide launch that could top $465 million. Only “Avengers: Endgame,” which opened to $357 million in 2019, has ever cleared the $300 million mark domestically.
Directed by “Shang-Chi” filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton, the film picks up four years after “No Way Home,” following a Peter Parker whom the world has forgotten. Reviews have been strong, with the film’s Rotten Tomatoes score hovering near 90 percent.
