Sony and Marvel’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day crossed $900 million at the domestic box office on Friday, the second film in history to reach the mark after Star Wars: The Force Awakens in 2015 and the fastest to do so by a two-week margin. The milestone arrives as the summer corridor closes, handing Sony a rare piece of domestic box office history that usually belongs to Disney.
The pace and the precedent
The Destin Daniel Cretton-directed film hit the threshold in 36 days of release, compared with 50 for The Force Awakens. Through Thursday the running cume stood at $899.7 million after a fifth-week frame of $30.4 million, a 43 percent drop from the prior week. Industry sources project roughly $18 million for the four-day Labor Day stretch, which would push the film within striking distance of The Force Awakens’ $936.6 million lifetime domestic record.
The weekend's new entrants
Paramount opened previews Thursday for By Any Means, an R-rated 1960s thriller financed by Hammerstone for $29 million and acquired as a straight distribution deal under the David Ellison administration. The Mark Wahlberg and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II vehicle took $725,000 at 2,350 locations, tracking toward a four-day debut of $6 million to $8 million. Preview comparables, Dog Stars at $850,000, Roofman at $950,000, and Wahlberg’s own Arthur the King at $830,000, all opened in the $7.6 million to $8.1 million range. Critics have been tepid at 58 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
The counter-programming logic
A24’s Onslaught added $275,000 in previews at 1,900 theaters, eyeing a $5 million to $7 million four-day on a $15 million production budget. The Adam Wingard-directed genre title sits at 57 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Both new wide releases follow the traditional Labor Day playbook: counter-programming for older adults when the blockbuster wave has crested, a strategy last validated by The Debt in 2010 and The Constant Gardener in 2005.
What to watch next
Spider-Man’s next record is the all-time domestic crown, currently held by The Force Awakens at $936.6 million. At the current pace, the Holland-Zendaya-Sadie Sink vehicle could overtake it before the month ends. For exhibitors, the real test is whether the holdover strength of a single title can sustain attendance once the calendar turns to the fall slate.