Peter Parker’s latest adventure is enjoying the longest stint at No. 1 since 2022’s “Avatar: The Way of Water,” which ranked in first place for seven straight weekends. With $923 million to date in North America, “Brand New Day” is primed to soon overtake 2015’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” ($936 million, not adjusted for inflation) as the highest-grossing movie of all time at the domestic box office. Meanwhile, Sony’s fourth “Spider-Man” adaptation led by Tom Holland has generated $2.4 billion globally, ranking as the third-biggest release ever behind 2009’s “Avatar” ($2.9 billion) and “Avengers: Endgame” ($2.7 billion) and ahead of 2022’s “Avatar: The Way of Water” ($2.3 billion).
This Labor Day weekend closes out the best summer movie season since COVID upended the cinema industry in 2020. Domestic ticket sales between May and early September reached $4.7 billion, according to Rentrak. Those revenues weren’t just strong by post-pandemic standards.
They register as the second-largest summer ever, not far behind the season’s high-water mark of $4.755 billion (not adjusted for inflation) set in 2013. Several blockbusters — including major studio offerings like “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” “The Odyssey,” “Toy Story 5,” “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” as well as indie sleeper hits like “Obsession” and “Backrooms” — were responsible for popcorn season’s outsized success. Those triumphs helped offset some big-budget bombs, including Disney’s live-action “Moana,” Warner Bros. and DC’s “Supergirl” and Amazon MGM’s “Masters of the Universe.” “This summer could signal a meaningful turning point for movie theaters,” says Rentrak’s Paul Dergarabedian.
Gross, who publishes the box office newsletter FranchiseRe. Audiences seemed to like the R-rated movie more than critics, as evidenced by the “B+” grade on CinemaScore and 52% on Rotten Tomatoes. Directed by Elegance Bratton, “By Any Means” centers around the unlikely partnership between a young Black FBI agent (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) and a notorious mafia hitman (Mark Wahlberg) as they investigate a wave of brutal killings targeting civil rights leaders.
Hammerstone Studios financed “By Any Means” for roughly $30 million, and Paramount is distributing the movie for a fee. Those ticket sales are roughly even with its predecessor, 2022’s survival thriller “Fall,” which opened to $2.5 million. That film managed to climb to $7.2 million domestically and $18 million globally by the end of its run, becoming a modest success against a mere $3 million budget.
The sequel follows two friends who travel to Thailand and get trapped at 4,000 feet after a sudden rockslide. What’s concerning is critics and audiences alike rejected the film, which was saddled with a “C” grade on CinemaScore and 54% on Rotten Tomatoes. That doesn’t bode well for box office longevity.
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