Spider-Man beats Avengers, snaps record $360M in domestic opening

Spider-Man just beat the Avengers at the box office. The latest movie of the popular franchise garnered more than initially projected to dethrone another superhero saga as the best-grossing make in the opening weekend. "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" broke the "Avengers: Endgame" record for the biggest North American opening weekend with $360 million in ticket sales from theaters in the U.S. and Canada, Sony Pictures said Monday. Sony on Sunday projected that Spider-Man would net an estimated $355 million in its first weekend playing in 4,487 theaters, just barely missing the 2019 "Avengers: Endgame" record of $357 million. But the fourth Spider-Man movie starring Tom Holland had a stronger-than-expected Sunday and ultimately came in ahead. Tom Rothman, the chairperson and CEO of Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, said in a statement: "Records are made to be broken, but we will take great pride in this one, for as long as we hold it." Before "Avengers: Endgame," no movie had opened over $300 million domestically. The previous record holders were "Avengers: Infinity War," which launched with $257 million in 2018, and "Star Wars: The Force Awakens” ($247 million in 2015). In December 2021, during the pandemic, the third Holland Spider-Man movie, "No Way Home," earned a place on the list with a $260 million debut on its way to $1.9 billion globally. The high-earning combination of "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" and "The Odyssey," which share actors Holland, Zendaya and Jon Bernthal, also propelled a record weekend overall for movie theaters in the U.S. and Canada. According to Rentrak, the domestic box office overall is up over 15% from last year with over $6.2 billion in ticket sales to date.