Spider-Man: Brand New Day had a massive opening weekend, with Deadline estimating a domestic gross of $355 million. That figure falls just under the $357 million record set by Avengers: Endgame in 2019, though Polygon notes the final numbers could still shift and potentially surpass Endgame once actual totals are confirmed.
The film also had the biggest opening day of all time, according to Polygon, and continues a trend in which each new MCU-era Spider-Man movie has out-earned the last on opening weekend—a rare feat for a long-running franchise. Polygon's own review of the film, directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, called it a 'grounded, emotional, and expertly crafted addition to the Spidey canon.'
Other films in theaters this weekend were far behind Brand New Day at the domestic box office. The Odyssey held strong with $51 million despite the competition, followed by Toy Story 5 ($6.2 million), Minions & Monsters ($5.6 million), Moana ($5.3 million), Hadestown ($2 million), The Invite ($1.1 million), I Want Your Sex ($570,000), Evil Dead Burn ($527,000), and Obsession ($450,000).
Beyond the box office numbers, Brand New Day also introduced a deep-cut comic book character to the MCU: Jean DeWolff, played by Liza Colón-Zayas, who appears as Peter Parker's friend on the NYPD. According to Polygon, DeWolff was created by Bill Mantlo and Sal Buscema in a 1976 issue of Marvel Team-Up, where she served as Spider-Man's police liaison.
In the comics, DeWolff was killed in 1985's 'The Death of Jean DeWolff,' a four-part story by Peter David and Rich Buckler in which she became the first victim of a serial killer called the Sin-Eater. That storyline led to Spider-Man and Daredevil learning each other's secret identities and, according to Polygon, indirectly set in motion the events that turned journalist Eddie Brock into Venom. Despite her death decades ago, DeWolff has continued to surface in Spider-Man media, including Spider-Man Noir, Spider-Gwen's universe, and Insomniac's Spider-Man games, where a character she mentored, Yuri Watanabe, became the hero known as the Wraith.
With Brand New Day's strong opening, attention now turns to whether the momentum can carry into December's Avengers: Doomsday, as Polygon notes superhero films had recently fallen out of favor with some critics and audiences before this weekend's results.