Spider-Man: Brand New Day earns $650 million in opening week

“Spider-Man: Brand New Day” has crushed Hollywood’s old records. The superhero sequel opened to $200 million in its first three days at U.S. cinemas, the biggest domestic debut ever, according to studio estimates released Sunday night. Overseas, early tallies point to another $450 million, putting global week-one earnings on track to top $650 million and shattering the previous record by almost 40%. The final numbers will land Tuesday, but the scale is already clear: this weekend was the first time any movie has crossed $200 million in a single weekend in North America.

The explosion wasn’t random. Disney and Sony spent $175 million on production, then plowed another $150 million into global marketing, including a Super Bowl spot and a TikTok blitz aimed at Gen Z. Theater chains heated up the competition by offering free popcorn and discounts on Tuesday night previews, hoping to lure back audiences after two years of streaming fatigue. Analysts say the victory lap is also a payoff for Marvel’s recent shift to older, more dramatic stories like “Avengers: Secret Wars,” which proved that superheroes can still draw families who now spend $25 for a single ticket and snack.

Critics are already calling it a cultural reset. “We’ve been waiting for the moment when people decide they’re done scrolling and want the shared spectacle of a big screen again,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore. Cinema owners report packed houses even at late-night shows, a sign that the pandemic-era habit of at-home viewing is receding. Theaters in major cities like Los Angeles, New York, and Atlanta ran out of premium large format screens by Friday afternoon, pushing some fans to earlier matinees.

What happens next is a feeding frenzy. Rivals like “Batman: Gotham Reckoning,” “X-Men: Legacy,” and a sequel to last summer’s surprise hit “Meg 3” have already moved up release dates, hoping to ride the wave. Wall Street is betting the momentum will lift Disney’s stock by as much as 6% this week. For the rest of Hollywood, the message is simple: if you can’t beat the Spider-Man machine, at least try to copy it.