What Spider-Man: Brand New Day's Box Office Means For The Future Of The Franchise

To say that "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" is doing well at the box office would be an insulting understatement. After just two weekends, it's already on the cusp of becoming one of the 10 biggest movies of all-time globally. By the end of this sentence, it will have even passed the mega-successful 2015 legacy sequel "Jurassic World" ($1.67 billion). But what does all of this mean for the "Spider-Man" film franchise, broadly speaking?

First, let's have a closer look at the numbers. On its second weekend, "Brand New Day" pulled in another $145 million domestically, the third-best second weekend of all time. It also added an astonishing $236 million overseas, giving it a whopping $1.66 billion running total. At this rate, it's on track to make over/under $2.5 billion worldwide, which would make it the third-biggest movie ever, trailing only "Avengers: Endgame" ($2.79 billion), and James Cameron's "Avatar" ($2.92 billion), which became the biggest movie all time twice. That's some tremendous company to be in.

Starring Tom Holland once again as Peter Parker, "Brand New Day" was directed by Destin Daniel Cretton ("Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings") and sees Peter fighting crime full-time as Spidey in a world that doesn't remember him in the aftermath of the ending of 2021's "Spider-Man: No Way Home." However, the pressure of seeing his old friends move on without him sparks a change Peter doesn't have the power to control. Yet, that transformation might also be the only thing that can stop a powerful villain no one can even see.

The "Spider-Man" franchise is now as powerful as any property in Hollywood. It's exceedingly valuable and has been going strong for nearly 25 years, with no signs of slowing down.

At a time when many superhero movies are struggling, with the Marvel Cinematic Universe having fallen from grace at the box office in recent years, "Spider-Man" remains damn-near bulletproof. The next-closest franchise to this level of stability is "Batman," but even that property has had flops like "Batman & Robin." In the realm of "Spider-Man," there are essentially no commercial bombs.

For that reason, this is now both Sony and Marvel Studios' most important franchise. Let's not forget that Sony still owns the rights to make "Spider-Man" movies, as well as movies based on characters connected to him. But the studio has a deal in place with Disney and Marvel Studios to produce the Tom Holland-led film, all while allowing him to appear in crossovers such as "Avengers: Infinity War."

It's proven to be a fruitful arrangement, as "Spider-Man: No Way Home" was hugely profitable, making over $1.9 billion worldwide in theaters. Then there was 2019's "Spider-Man: Far From Home," the first Spider-Man movie to break $1 billion at the box office, grossing $1.1 billion in total. Overall, these movies have earned more than $10 billion since Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man" debuted in 2002, although the grosses have grown substantially with Holland under the mask.

These movies have also benefited greatly from being part of the larger MCU. In the case of "Brand New Day," Marvel kept Sadie Sink's role a secret, but her character has a huge connection to the MCU's future. In addition, the film features the Punisher (Jon Bernthal) and Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), which has gone a long way in terms of filling seats and generating excitement. For better or for worse, Marvel Studios, Disney, and Sony Pictures must continue to work together for the foreseeable future.

Let's not forget, there was a time where these studios almost parted ways. However, Disney and Sony announced a new deal to keep Spider-Man in the MCU in 2019. The relationship has only gotten more fruitful since then. Basically, there's no chance the two sides are splitting ways now. Spidey is going to remain part of the MCU for years to come, with a pretty fair degree of certainty.

Beyond that, the biggest question on everyone's minds is: What's the status of "Spider-Man 5" now? Undoubtedly, Sony, Marvel, and Disney would love to make it happen as soon as possible. It's going to be a top priority. There was a four-year gap between "No Way Home" and "Brand New Day," but Sony won't want to wait another four years. The problem? Tom Holland and Zendaya may not be so eager to jump back in.

Both of them are huge stars who want to do stuff outside of the MCU. Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey" has been ruling the box office, and both Holland and Zendaya are in it. They're going to have non-Marvel opportunities galore. Holland, in particular, wants to spread his wings beyond Spidey, but Sony can't realistically get impatient and decide to reboot the franchise now. It needs Holland, so he's got a lot of leverage. If he wants to do other things, Sony will just have to wait.

What this really comes down to is: Can Sony and Marvel convince Holland to get a new "Spider-Man" movie in theaters by, say, 2029? That's a realistic goal and one we're probably going to see the studio side working towards because this money train is speeding down the tracks.

"Spider-Man: Brand New Day" is in theaters now.