Spider-Man: Brand New Day breaks Avengers: Endgame record with $72 million in previews
After a quiet weekend at the box office with no major new wide release, movie fans have rushed to cinemas to watch Tom Holland and Zendaya return to the big screen in Sony Pictures‘ latest superhero movie, Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
The new Marvel Studios film has made a huge impact even before its official opening weekend, earning an estimated $72 million from Thursday preview screenings across 4,300 cinemas in North America.
The impressive figure has set a new record for the biggest Thursday preview opening in movie history. It beats the previous record held by Avengers: Endgame, which earned $60 million from preview screenings in 2019.
Spider-Man Beats Avengers: Endgame Preview Record
The $72 million earned by Spider-Man: Brand New Day from Thursday previews is a major achievement for the film and gives it the biggest preview total of the year so far.
For comparison, Avengers: Endgame earned $60 million from its Thursday previews before going on to have one of the biggest opening weekends in cinema history. The film eventually collected $357.1 million in North America during its opening weekend and earned an incredible $1.2 billion worldwide.
With its strong preview performance, Spider-Man: Brand New Day is now expected to have one of the biggest openings of 2026.
The film’s Thursday performance is also far ahead of other major movies released this year. Universal’s The Odyssey previously held the top preview figure for 2026 with $17.6 million.
It was followed by Toy Story 5, which earned $17.5 million, and Michael, which made $12.6 million from previews.
Both Toy Story 5 and Michael have already crossed the $1 billion mark at the global box office. The Odyssey is also moving closer to that milestone after passing $700 million worldwide earlier this week.
Spider-Man: No Way Home Also Had a Huge Opening
The latest Spider-Man film follows the huge success of Spider-Man: No Way Home, which was released in December 2021.
That film earned $50 million from Thursday previews before opening to an impressive $260.1 million in North America during its first weekend. It also made $587.2 million worldwide during its opening weekend.
No Way Home went on to become a massive global success, eventually earning around $1.9 billion worldwide. It currently ranks among the highest-grossing films of all time.
Much of the excitement surrounding that film came from the surprise appearances of former Spider-Man actors Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, who returned to play their versions of Peter Parker.
The movie also benefited from being released during a period when the cinema industry was still recovering from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Brand New Day Could Surpass Opening Weekend Expectations
The strong preview numbers for Spider-Man: Brand New Day suggest that the movie could perform much better than the studio originally expected.
Before its release, the film was projected to earn about $195 million in North America during its opening weekend and approximately $465 million worldwide.
However, its record-breaking preview performance has raised expectations considerably.
A $195 million domestic opening would already place the film among the 10 biggest opening weekends in movie history. With the strong start recorded on Thursday, there is now growing interest in seeing how high the film can climb on the all-time box office charts.
The movie reportedly has a production budget of $225 million, meaning it will need a strong performance at cinemas to deliver a major return for the studio.
Tom Holland Returns as Spider-Man
Tom Holland returns as Peter Parker and Spider-Man in Brand New Day, with Zendaya also returning to the franchise.
The cast also includes Sadie Sink, Jacob Batalon, Jon Bernthal and Mark Ruffalo.
The story follows Spider-Man as he lives a lonely life without the people he once loved and cared about. His situation changes when a mysterious and invisible enemy begins tracking him down.
The film is directed by Destin Daniel Cretton.
Moviegoers Give the Film Strong Reviews
The early response from moviegoers and critics has also been positive.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day currently has a 90 percent approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, while audiences have given the film an impressive 98 percent score.
The strong audience response could help the movie maintain its momentum beyond its opening weekend.
In his review for The Hollywood Reporter, chief film critic David Rooney praised Tom Holland’s performance, describing it as “a never-better Tom Holland.”
The positive reviews, combined with the record-breaking preview numbers, could give Brand New Day the momentum it needs to become one of the biggest movies of the year.
Other Movies Opening This Weekend
While Spider-Man: Brand New Day is expected to dominate the box office, another movie is also opening in wide release this weekend.
Filmmaker Gregg Araki’s I Want Your Sex, starring Olivia Wilde and Cooper Hoffman, is being released in around 700 cinemas across North America.
Magnolia Pictures acquired the comedic thriller in a deal reportedly worth seven figures following its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.
However, with the enormous early response to Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the superhero movie is expected to remain the biggest attraction for moviegoers this weekend.
The record $72 million from Thursday previews has already placed the film ahead of Avengers: Endgame in terms of preview earnings. The next major question is whether Tom Holland’s latest Spider-Man adventure can turn that strong start into one of the biggest opening weekends in cinema history.
