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Hollywood & Entertainment ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ Tracking To Have Biggest Opening Of 2026 By Tim Lammers ,
Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I cover Hollywood and entertainment. Follow Author Jul 27, 2026, 04:20pm EDT Jul 27, 2026, 04:33pm EDT --:-- / --:-- This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more . This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more . Summary "Spider-Man: Brand New Day," starring Tom Holland and Zendaya, opens this weekend, projected for a massive box office debut. The film, set after Doctor Strange erased memories of Peter Parker, sees Peter, MJ, and Ned starting fresh against a new threat to New York. Domestic opening estimates vary, with Deadline projecting $180-$190 million, partly due to limited IMAX availability. However, Box Office Pro forecasts $230-$250 million, and Box Office Theory predicts up to $274 million, settling on $249 million. Even the lowest projection would make it 2026's biggest opening, topping "Toy Story 5." This highly anticipated sequel follows 2021's "No Way Home," which earned $260.1 million in its domestic debut.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day , starring Tom Holland and Zendaya, is new in theaters this weekend and is projected to climb to new heights at the domestic box office in its opening weekend.
Once again starring Holland as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, Spider-Man: Brand New Day marks the first big-screen adventure for the webslinger since the 2021 worldwide blockbuster Spider-Man: No Way Home , which earned $1.9 billion globally despite theaters being hampered worldwide by the COVID-19 pandemic. In Spider-Man: No Way Home’s opening weekend Dec. 17-19, 2021 (including Thursday previews), the film amassed an astounding $260.1 million from 4,336 North American theaters.
The new film is set after the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home , when Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) erased the world’s memories of Peter Parker/Spider-Man. In Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Peter must start anew with MJ ( Zendaya ) and Ned (Jacob Batalon) as he takes on a new sinister force threatening New York City.
And while five years is a lot of time between Holland’s Spider-Man films, early projections for the film’s opening weekend stateside suggest that movie fans have clearly not forgotten about their friendly neighborhood superhero.
Of all of the major box office prognosticators, Deadline , as of July 9, projected the lowest opening for Spider-Man: Brand New Day , as the trade publication said the film was tracking to make anywhere from $180 million to $190 million domestic opening for Spider-Man: Brand New Day .
Even at the low end of the projection, Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s three-day take would be more than enough to top Toy Story 5’s $159.6 million as the top-grossing opening weekend of 2026.
While that number is much lower than the amount Spider-Man: No Way Home made in an uncertain environment in December 2021, Deadline was quick to point out that the film would not be opening in IMAX venues that have a three-week commitment to Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey . However, as Deadline pointed out, the film will be playing in Premium Large Format venues. Still, don’t be surprised if the trade publication boosts its projection upward.
Rated PG-13, Spider-Man: Brand New Day is expected to open in 4,000 North American theaters. The film plays in preview screenings on Thursday before opening in theaters nationwide on Friday.
While Deadline opted for a lower projected opening for Spider-Man: Brand New Day on July 9, Box Office Pro on the following day released its long-range tracking forecast for Tom Holland’s fourth solo Spidey film that is much more favorable.
As such, Box Office Pro projected that the film would earn anywhere from $230 million to $250 million in its first weekend frame July 31-Aug. 2, which still falls short of what Spider-Man: No Way Home made in 2021.
At this juncture, only Box Office Theory believes Spider-Man: Brand New Day can approach the blistering opening of its predecessor. On July 24, Box Office Theory cast the widest net among its fellow prognosticators, projecting that the film, domestically, could make as little as $228 million or as much as $274 million in its opening weekend frame. Ultimately, Box Office Theory settled on a $249 million projection for the film.
Directed by Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings filmmaker Deston Daniel Cretin, and also starring Jon Bernthal, Tramell Tillman, Liza Colón-Zayas, Sadie Sink, Michael Mando and Mark Ruffalo, Spider-Man: Brand New Day plays in Thursday previews before opening in theaters nationwide on Friday.
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