‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ and ‘The Odyssey’ Battle at the Top as Universal Makes Box Office History

Late summer at the multiplex has turned into a genuine spectacle this year, with two of 2026’s biggest theatrical events refusing to cede ground to each other even weeks into their respective runs. What’s unfolding at the global box office right now is less a typical late-August lull and more a heavyweight title fight between two franchises operating at historic scale.

That fight pits Sony and Marvel’s ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day‘ against Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey,‘ two films that have spent much of the summer trading blows atop worldwide charts. Both movies have continued adding staggering sums to their totals well past their opening weekends, a rarity for films this deep into their theatrical windows.

This weekend’s numbers only sharpened that rivalry further. ‘Brand New Day’ extended its fifth session to a global total of $2.33 billion, split between $1.44 billion internationally and $891.5 million domestically, making it the fourth highest-grossing movie ever at the worldwide box office. Meanwhile, ‘The Odyssey’ has climbed to $1.55 billion globally, with $988.7 million coming from international markets and $563.8 million domestic, marking Nolan’s best performance ever as a filmmaker.

That combined international muscle has pushed Universal into genuinely rare company. The studio’s haul from ‘The Odyssey’ helped push it past the $3 billion mark overseas, making Universal the first studio in 2026 to cross that threshold at the international box office. It’s only the third time any studio has managed that feat since 2019, and the third time specifically that Universal itself has reached that milestone.

While Sony and Universal traded box office records, Disney and 20th Century’s ‘The Dog Stars’ suffered a rough fate by comparison. Ridley Scott’s post-apocalyptic thriller starring Jacob Elordi limped to a global total of just $19 million, a stark contrast to the historic numbers being posted by its late-summer competition.

That disparity underscores just how unusual this particular box office moment has become. Two films from different studios, different genres and different release strategies are both performing at franchise-best or career-best levels simultaneously, something that rarely happens even during a strong summer season.

Universal’s overall 2026 has also been remarkable beyond just ‘The Odyssey.’ The studio previously became the first to cross $4 billion worldwide this year, and with ‘The Odyssey’ still climbing toward the billion-dollar domestic mark, Universal’s year-to-date global numbers show no signs of slowing as the calendar heads toward fall.

With both ‘Brand New Day’ and ‘The Odyssey’ still playing in wide release and neither showing significant signs of fatigue, the battle for box office supremacy looks likely to continue for at least a few more weekends.

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