Lucasfilm Congratulates ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ for Beating ‘Star Wars’

Avatar photoHrvoje Milakovic
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Box office records often seem unbreakable, but ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ held its domestic title for over a decade, appearing untouchable. J.J. Abrams’ 2015 revival of the franchise marked a significant moment for modern blockbuster cinema, coinciding with Disney and Lucasfilm’s much-anticipated return to the ‘Star Wars’ universe after acquiring Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion.

Tom Holland’s latest solo adventure as Peter Parker has spent nearly two months pursuing that very benchmark. ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day‘ debuted with a record-setting $360.1 million domestic weekend in July, and instead of following the typical decline of most blockbusters, it continued to soar, becoming the fastest film to reach $700 million, $800 million, and $900 million domestically.

This week, that pursuit officially concluded. ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ has surpassed ‘The Force Awakens’ to become the highest-grossing film of all time at the domestic box office, amassing $936.773 million after just 47 days in theaters and finally eclipsing the $936.6 million record that had stood since 2015.

Rather than let this moment pass unnoticed, Lucasfilm chose to partake in one of Hollywood’s time-honored traditions: publicly congratulating the film that has just taken its crown. The studio shared a graphic featuring its own franchise, with X-wings flying overhead and the phrase “Impressive. Most Impressive.,” a direct reference to Darth Vader’s iconic line, extending “massive congratulations” to director Destin Daniel Cretton, star Tom Holland, and the entire team at Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios.

This kind of public sportsmanship has become an unofficial ritual in Hollywood whenever a long-standing box office record is finally broken, and Lucasfilm’s message fits perfectly into that tradition. Given how long ‘The Force Awakens’ maintained its position—largely because Disney and Lucasfilm never gave it a major anniversary re-release like some of the ‘Star Wars’ prequels—the record’s eventual fall carries significant weight for fans who watched it dominate the charts for years.

‘Brand New Day’s achievements extend beyond just the domestic record. The film has now grossed over $2.45 billion globally, making it the third-highest-grossing film of all time worldwide, trailing only ‘Avatar’ at $2.9 billion and ‘Avengers: Endgame’ at $2.7 billion, while surpassing ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ and 1994’s ‘Titanic.’ It is also only the second film in history to exceed $900 million domestically, a title that had been exclusively held by ‘The Force Awakens’ for nearly a decade until this summer.

Screenshot 2026 08 06 at 10 43 05 Spider Man Brand New Day Rotten Tomatoes

Interestingly, when adjusted for inflation, ‘The Force Awakens’ still holds an advantage, with its original total equating to approximately $1.32 billion in today’s dollars due to the 41 percent cumulative inflation rate over the past 11 years. Nevertheless, in straightforward, unadjusted figures, the title now unquestionably belongs to Holland’s Spider-Man, and with the substantial gap now separating it from the rest of the all-time chart, that record appears poised to endure for a considerable time.

With ‘Brand New Day’ still in theaters and continuing to add to its total, some are speculating whether the film could eventually become the first to cross $1 billion domestically, although that milestone may require a re-release given its current trajectory. For now, the film has already secured its place in box office history, and Lucasfilm’s gracious congratulations only enhance what is shaping up to be one of the most discussed theatrical runs in recent memory.

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