Spider-Man: Brand New Day took $72 million from Thursday previews, the biggest preview haul in box office history. It did it without a single IMAX screen.
The figure, reported by the trades on Friday morning, breaks a record many in the industry assumed was permanent: the $60 million Avengers: Endgame took in April 2019. Endgame had itself broken the $57 million set by Star Wars: The Force Awakens in 2015. Sony has officially confirmed only that the film cleared $50 million, already the best preview night in the studio’s history.
The Scale Of It
The number lands well ahead of Spider-Man: No Way Home, which managed $50 million in previews in 2021 on its way to a $260 million opening weekend. It also dwarfs everything else released this year. The Odyssey led 2026 previews with $17.6 million, followed by Toy Story 5 at $17.5 million and Michael at $12.6 million. Brand New Day did roughly four times the best of them, across 4,300 North American screens.
The absence of IMAX makes it stranger. Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey holds the entire IMAX network for three weekends, so Brand New Day is playing every premium large format except the one that usually contributes the largest single share of a superhero opening.
Nobody Agrees What Happens Next
The forecasts for the full weekend are not close to one another. Sony is publicly guiding to $190 million to $195 million domestic. Variety puts it at $260 million to $280 million, which would be the second-biggest domestic opening ever, behind only Endgame’s $357 million and ahead of No Way Home. Online trackers have been saying $300 million or more, and after the preview number some are now talking about $350 million.
That is a spread of roughly $160 million between the studio’s own forecast and the most aggressive projections, which is unusual this close to a release. The variable is front-loading: a record preview night can mean enormous demand or it can mean the weekend’s audience simply showed up early. The Friday to Saturday drop will settle it.
Internationally the film is expected to add $275 million to $300 million. Only nine films have ever opened above $200 million domestically, and only Endgame has cleared $300 million.
A Record Weekend For Everyone
Because The Odyssey is still performing in its third weekend, the combined domestic total could break the all-time record for a single weekend at the North American box office, which stands at $402 million from the Endgame launch. It would also push 2026 past $6 billion domestic.
The reception supports the number. Brand New Day opened with an A on CinemaScore alongside the scores we covered earlier, when critics landed at 91 percent and audiences gave it a record-tying 98. Destin Daniel Cretton directed from a $225 million production budget, with Tom Holland, Zendaya, Sadie Sink, Jacob Batalon, Jon Bernthal and Mark Ruffalo starring.
For the latest news and updates make sure to follow us on social media! Facebook | Twitter | Threads | Instagram
