LOS ANGELES — The crown has changed hands. Spider-Man: Brand New Day has officially passed Star Wars: The Force Awakens to become the highest-grossing domestic release in box office history, ending a record run the 2015 film had held for more than a decade. The latest chapter in the Spider-Man Brand New Day box office saga turned what began as a record chase into a coronation — and the film is still climbing.
The milestone landed on September 16, the film’s 47th day in theaters, when its domestic total reached approximately $936.773 million against The Force Awakens‘ $936.662 million, according to Variety, as reported by ICv2. It was a photo finish eleven years in the making — and the web-slinger won it by barely more than $100,000.
Even Lucasfilm tipped its cap. The Star Wars studio posted congratulations to director Destin Daniel Cretton, Holland, Sony Pictures, and Marvel Studios, writing “Impressive. Most impressive,” alongside an animated image of Spider-Man and the message “The force is strong with you,” the Glasgow Times reported — a classy passing of the torch from the dethroned champion.
How the Spider-Man Brand New Day Box Office Run Broke the Record
The final stretch of the chase was genuinely dramatic. In its seventh weekend — the frame ending September 13 — Tom Holland’s fourth solo outing as Spider-Man earned about $8.4 million, a 54% drop, lifting its domestic cumulative total to roughly $935.2 million and leaving it within approximately $1.4 million of the record, according to Associated Press figures compiled by Shorty News. That weekend, the film finally lost the No. 1 spot it had held for six consecutive weeks, dethroned by the $30 million debut of Warner Bros.’ Practical Magic 2.
But the loss of the top spot didn’t slow the math. Weekday business over the following days closed the last gap, and on September 16 the record fell. The film’s official Instagram account marked the moment directly: “Doesn’t get bigger than this. Thank you to the fans for helping #SpiderManBrandNewDay make cinematic history, it’s now the highest-grossing domestic release of ALL TIME at the North American box office,” as quoted by Blex Media.
Even Lucasfilm tipped its cap. The Star Wars studio posted congratulations to director Destin Daniel Cretton, Holland, Sony Pictures, and Marvel Studios, writing “Impressive. Most impressive,” alongside an animated image of Spider-Man and the message “The force is strong with you,” the Glasgow Times reported — a classy passing of the torch from the dethroned champion.
The Spider-Man Brand New Day Box Office Totals Now
The record hasn’t just been taken — it’s being extended. According to running totals from The Numbers checked October 5 and compiled by Red Reactions, Brand New Day stood at $954,477,000 domestically through October 4, about $17.81 million ahead of The Force Awakens‘ final $936,662,225. In the process it became the first film ever to top $950 million domestically.
The global picture is nearly as staggering. The film’s international total sits around $1.551 billion, for a worldwide haul of approximately $2.505 billion — the third-highest global gross of all time, behind only Avatar ($2.9 billion) and Avengers: Endgame ($2.7 billion), per the same figures.
Speed has been the story of this run from the start. The film became the fastest ever to reach $900 million domestically, according to the Red Reactions compilation of The Numbers data. (Note: running totals incorporate the latest weekend estimates and can shift as more grosses are reported; they are not final lifetime totals.)
The Weekend It Lost No. 1: Practical Magic 2’s $30M Debut
The record fell in the shadow of a changing of the guard at the top of the chart. Practical Magic 2, reuniting Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman nearly three decades after the 1998 original, opened to an estimated $30 million from 4,146 North American theaters, according to Rentrak estimates reported by the Associated Press via Shorty News — enough to end Brand New Day‘s six-week reign. The sequel added about $16 million from 77 international markets for a $46 million global opening.
The $30 million debut landed at the low end of Warner Bros.’ projected $30–35 million range against a reported $75 million net production budget (co-financed 50/50 with Alcon), per Deadline figures cited by Shorty News — a genuine win on a soft fall weekend, but not the runaway breakout some pre-release tracking had floated. Audiences, at least, were warm: a 92% Rotten Tomatoes audience score and an A– from the core 35–49 female crowd that grew up on the original.
Behind the witches, Brand New Day took second with its $8.4 million seventh weekend, and The Odyssey held third with $7.4 million in its ninth weekend, crossing $600.5 million domestically and $1.68 billion worldwide at that point while passing Jurassic World to become Universal’s highest-grossing global release. Total weekend revenue across all films hit $83.4 million, a 44% decline from the same weekend last year, per Rentrak.
What the Record Means for Marvel’s Upcoming Slate
Few saw a record of this magnitude coming when the film launched. Sony-attributed figures reported by Shorty News put the domestic opening weekend at $360.1 million — itself an all-time opening record — with a $932 million global opening weekend. Sustained word of mouth did the rest across seven-plus weeks of theatrical play.
The film, directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and starring Tom Holland in his fourth solo turn as Peter Parker — with Jon Bernthal’s Punisher joining the big-screen Marvel fold, per box-office coverage — now stands as Sony and Marvel’s biggest domestic earner by an enormous margin and the top-grossing film worldwide this year by roughly $800 million, according to Graphic Policy’s weekend breakdown.
The question now is whether the run has one more milestone in it: $1 billion domestic, something no film has ever achieved. People previously covered the film’s $900 million domestic crossing, and at the current pace the billion-dollar mark is within theoretical reach — though without a re-release or extended holiday play, analysts cited by Blex Media consider it a stretch. Either way, the film’s place in the record books is secure, and its momentum arrives just as Marvel’s upcoming slate heads into its next phase.
For the domestic chart, the new order reads: Spider-Man: Brand New Day at the top, The Force Awakens second, and Avengers: Endgame third — a reshuffling of the all-time list that would have seemed unthinkable a decade ago, tracked week by week in this site’s weekend box office coverage.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Has Spider-Man: Brand New Day broken the domestic box office record?
A: Yes. It passed Star Wars: The Force Awakens‘ $936.66 million on September 16 — its 47th day in theaters — reaching approximately $936.77 million, according to Variety via ICv2. It remains No. 1 on the all-time domestic chart.
Q: How much has Spider-Man: Brand New Day grossed so far?
A: Through October 4, The Numbers listed $954,477,000 domestically — about $17.8 million ahead of the old record — with roughly $1.551 billion internationally and $2.505 billion worldwide, the third-highest global total ever.
Q: Could it become the first $1 billion domestic movie?
A: It is the first film ever to pass $950 million domestically, so $1 billion is mathematically in reach. But with the theatrical run winding down, analysts consider it a stretch without a re-release or extended holiday engagement.
Q: What dethroned Spider-Man from No. 1 at the box office?
A: Practical Magic 2, starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman, opened to an estimated $30 million domestically (AP via Shorty News), ending Brand New Day‘s six-consecutive-weekend run atop the chart.
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