Spider-Man Brand New Day overtakes Avengers Endgame at US box office

MUMBAI: Spidey’s box-office web just got a whole lot bigger. Spider-Man: Brand New Day has climbed to the No. 2 spot on the all-time domestic box office chart, with $858.4 million in North America, narrowly overtaking Avengers: Endgame, which finished with $858.3 million in 2019.

The Tom Holland-led Marvel blockbuster now has only one film left to beat domestically: Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens, which remains at the top with $936.6 million.

The latest milestone follows another record-breaking run for Brand New Day. Last week, the film became the fastest movie to cross $800 million domestically, reaching the mark in just 19 days.

It had earlier overtaken Spider-Man: No Way Home to briefly take the No. 3 position on the domestic chart before moving past Endgame. The film has also become Sony Pictures’ highest-grossing domestic release and previously set a studio record as Sony’s biggest global release.

The film’s international performance is proving equally formidable. As of Sunday, Brand New Day had reached $2.22 billion worldwide, placing it at No. 6 on the all-time global box office chart.

It has already moved past Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which ended its run at $2.07 billion, and is closing in on Titanic at $2.26 billion. Just ahead is Chinese animated fantasy Ne Zha 2, at $2.27 billion.

The film, directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, opened in theatres on July 31 and is approaching its fifth weekend. Zendaya, Sadie Sink and Jon Bernthal also star alongside Holland.

Its run has included a $360 million domestic opening weekend, surpassing Endgame for the biggest domestic opening weekend ever. It subsequently recorded the highest-grossing first week in domestic box office history and became the second-fastest film after Endgame to cross $1 billion worldwide.

The film’s performance is also helping lift the broader US theatrical market. The 2026 domestic box office crossed $7 billion as of Sunday, according to Rentrak, putting the year 20.4 per cent ahead of 2025 at the same point.

Summer releases have generated an estimated $4.444 billion domestically, up 25.5 per cent from last year’s tally. The all-time summer record remains $4.75 billion, set in 2013.

The success comes despite wider conversations about superhero fatigue, particularly after some recent comic-book releases underperformed. Sony Pictures chief Tom Rothman argued that the issue was less about superheroes and more about the quality of theatrical releases.

His view is straightforward: audiences can stay home for something that is merely average, but a trip to the cinema needs to feel worth the effort.

For Brand New Day, at least, audiences appear to have decided that this particular trip is very much worth taking.