Spider Man Brand New Day breaks Endgame first week box office record

MUMBAI: With great box office comes great record-breaking. Spider-Man has swung past one of cinema’s biggest milestones, proving that audiences are still more than willing to answer the web-slinger’s call despite an increasingly crowded blockbuster landscape.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day has become the highest-grossing first week release in North American box office history, collecting more than $500 million in its first seven days and overtaking Avengers: Endgame, which reached the same milestone in eight days following its 2019 debut.

The latest feat adds to an extraordinary opening run for Sony Pictures’ superhero film, which has rewritten the record books almost daily since its release. Earlier this week, the film also became the second-fastest movie ever to cross $1 billion globally, achieving the milestone in just six days, with only Avengers: Endgame reaching the mark more quickly.

The Tom Holland-starrer had already edged past Endgame to deliver the biggest domestic opening weekend in history, earning $360 million compared with the Marvel blockbuster’s $357.1 million. However, Endgame continues to hold the record for the largest worldwide opening weekend with $1.2 billion.

Directed by Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton, the film also set new benchmarks for the highest Thursday preview collections, the biggest Friday domestic gross, and the strongest Monday and Tuesday box office takings ever recorded in North America. It also delivered Sony Pictures’ biggest opening weekend to date.

Produced by Marvel Studios and Amy Pascal, Spider-Man: Brand New Day was made on a reported $225 million production budget. Alongside Holland, the film stars Zendaya, Sadie Sink, Jacob Batalon, Jon Bernthal and Mark Ruffalo.

The story follows Peter Parker as he struggles with a life in which his loved ones no longer remember him, before a mysterious unseen enemy forces him back into action.

Sony Pictures Chairman Tom Rothman attributed the film’s phenomenal performance to the enduring appeal of its lead stars, saying Tom Holland and Zendaya have earned their popularity through talent and hard work rather than fleeting celebrity.

The film now heads into its second weekend facing fresh competition from One Night Only, Super Troopers 3 and Ice Cream Man. Even so, after smashing records once thought untouchable, Brand New Day has already established itself as one of the defining box office events of the decade.