‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ Surpasses ‘The Force Awakens’ as 5th Highest-Grossing Film

Box office climbs typically occur gradually, with films reaching milestones one step at a time. However, Tom Holland’s latest adventure has been breaking records at an astonishing pace.

Since its record-breaking debut in late July, ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ has been rewriting box office history, maintaining a rapid ascent in the all-time global rankings that few blockbusters achieve. Each new milestone has come quicker than the last, keeping the film at the forefront of this year’s box office discussions.

The film has officially surpassed ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ and its $2.071 billion worldwide total, making ‘Brand New Day’ the fifth highest-grossing film of all time globally, not adjusted for inflation. It now sits just behind ‘Titanic’ at $2.26 billion, with ‘Avatar,’ ‘Avengers: Endgame,’ and ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ occupying the top four spots.

According to Sony Pictures, ‘Brand New Day’ is projected to finish its fourth weekend in theaters with a cumulative global gross of $2.22 billion, comprising $855 million domestically and $1.365 billion from international markets. This total puts the film just $45 million away from overtaking ‘Titanic’ and entering the top four worldwide.

The film’s path to this achievement has been remarkably steady, especially considering how sharply most blockbuster box office curves tend to decline after the opening weekend. ‘Brand New Day’ debuted with a staggering $360 million domestically, breaking the previous opening weekend record held by ‘Avengers: Endgame,’ and followed it up with a $144.5 million second weekend, a hold only ‘Endgame’ and ‘The Force Awakens’ have surpassed.

Its third weekend brought in another $70 million, marking the second-best third weekend in box office history and pushing its domestic total past $785 million. By the end of that same weekend, ‘Brand New Day’ had already become the fourth highest-grossing domestic film of all time, trailing only ‘The Force Awakens,’ ‘Avengers: Endgame,’ and ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home,’ while surpassing ‘Avatar.’

Approximately 60 percent of the film’s worldwide total has come from international markets, where it has already become Sony’s biggest release ever and the highest-grossing Hollywood film in Indian box office history. China currently leads all international territories, with the U.K., Mexico, and India closely following.

With ‘The Force Awakens’ now behind it, the focus has shifted to whether ‘Brand New Day’ can eventually challenge ‘Avengers: Endgame’ for the title of highest-grossing superhero film ever. This competition remains uncertain, as ‘Brand New Day’ has already outperformed ‘Endgame’ in certain metrics, including its domestic debut, while still trailing in others, such as global opening weekend totals.

Adding to the complexity, ‘Endgame’ is set for its own theatrical rerelease this September as Marvel builds anticipation for ‘Avengers: Doomsday,’ giving the 2019 blockbuster a chance to enhance its final numbers before ‘Brand New Day’ can fully close the gap. Regardless of how this race unfolds, ‘Brand New Day’ has firmly established itself as one of the defining box office stories of the year.

Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and featuring Holland alongside Zendaya, Sadie Sink, and Jon Bernthal, ‘Brand New Day’ continues to grow its box office total daily, indicating that its current standing on the all-time chart may not be its final position. With momentum still strong, the film’s ascent in the worldwide rankings shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

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