‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ Just Beat the Biggest Box Office Record in History, but the Full Story Is More Complicated

Box office records rarely fall cleanly. Every so often a number gets set that looks untouchable on paper, only for the circumstances behind it to matter just as much as the figure itself once a challenger finally comes along. That’s exactly the situation unfolding with ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day‘ this week.

The film has officially posted the biggest Thursday preview night in U.S. box office history, edging past ‘Avengers: Endgame’s’ long-standing $60 million mark from 2019. That number includes early Wednesday screenings for Amazon Prime members, and on the surface, it represents exactly the kind of record-breaking moment that would normally translate into the biggest domestic opening weekend ever, ahead of even Endgame’s all-time $357.1 million debut.

But box office analysts have been quick to add context that complicates that comparison considerably. Endgame’s previews began at a traditional 6 PM start time across a smaller number of theaters than it would eventually play on opening day. ‘Brand New Day,’ by contrast, ran a nearly full day of preview showtimes starting in the early afternoon across more than 4,000 theaters, functionally giving it far more selling time than Endgame ever had during its official preview window.

There’s also a broader industry trend at play. Comic book movie openings have steadily grown more frontloaded toward previews with each passing year compared to the pre-pandemic era when Endgame set its record, meaning today’s preview numbers naturally carry more weight relative to the eventual opening weekend than they did six years ago. Endgame itself earned only about 17 percent of its opening weekend total from Thursday night, a relatively modest share by today’s standards.

Endgame also had advantages ‘Brand New Day’ simply doesn’t have access to. The Russo Brothers’ 2019 blockbuster grossed $4.8 million domestically from 412 IMAX screens during its Thursday previews alone, part of a premium-format push that ultimately saw IMAX and 3D screens account for a massive share of its total opening haul. ‘Brand New Day’ has no IMAX availability at all, with Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’ occupying the format’s entire domestic screen network for a multi-week exclusivity window. Sony’s Spider-Man sequel is also sharing its remaining premium large-format screens with ‘The Odyssey’ rather than having the format’s full attention the way Endgame did in 2019.

That combination of factors has led some analysts to argue that, in a truly equal situation, ‘Brand New Day’ might have come even closer to Endgame’s previews, or beaten them more decisively, rather than the margin currently being reported. Still, even accounting for every caveat, unseating Endgame’s all-time opening weekend record remains considered unlikely.

For additional context, Endgame’s Thursday previews weren’t just a strong number in isolation; they fed directly into a record-breaking opening day. That $60 million preview haul became part of a $157.1 million single-day gross once Friday’s numbers were folded in, a total that stood as the biggest opening day in box office history at the time and helped power Endgame toward its still-unmatched $357.1 million three-day domestic debut.

What isn’t in question is the film’s dominance over ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home,’ the previous holder of the second-biggest domestic opening of all time at $260.1 million. ‘Brand New Day’ is expected to comfortably surpass that mark, doing so notably without the kind of holiday-season release corridor that helped fuel No Way Home’s original run, and while also running a longer overall theatrical day than its predecessor.

Whatever the final tally ends up being once official numbers are confirmed, the sheer scale of Thursday’s previews has already made one thing clear: this is shaping up to be one of the most historic opening weekends in U.S. box office history, caveats and all.

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