Sony's Spider-Man nets record $72M previews, narrows box office gap
Sony and Marvel’s "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" has set a domestic preview record with $72 million, a performance poised to help the theatrical exhibition sector close its persistent revenue deficit against pre-pandemic benchmarks.
Sony and Marvel’s "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" secured $72 million in domestic preview ticket sales, surpassing the $60 million record set by 2019's "Avengers: Endgame." The film is now projected to generate roughly $270 million domestically during its debut weekend.
That opening should accelerate the theatrical industry's sluggish recovery. The domestic box office has collected $5.6 billion year-to-date through Sunday, remaining 16% behind 2019 levels. The summer corridor is performing better, down just 9% at $3.05 billion compared to seven years ago.
The film is positioned to eclipse the $260 million opening of its predecessor, 2021's "Spider-Man: No Way Home." However, it will likely fall short of "Endgame's" $357 million three-day debut. "While pre-shows are a very strong indicator of potential opening-weekend success, several factors can come into play, including a heavily front-loaded preview and opening day driven by fans motivated by the shared urgency of opening-weekend FOMO, [fear of missing out]," Dergarabedian said.
A key constraint on the film's total ceiling is the absence of Imax screens. Those premium formats have been reserved by Universal for Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey," which is extending its Imax run into September.
Sony is compensating with alternative premium large formats. ScreenX generated $1.8 million on Thursday and is tracking toward $4 million for the weekend. 4DX took in $1.3 million on Thursday and is expected to reach $4.5 million over three days, with additional revenue coming from Dolby Cinema, HDR by Barco, and proprietary formats from major chains like AMC, Regal and Cinemark.
Arriving at the tail end of July, the bulk of "Brand New Day's" revenue will land in August. This provides a crucial momentum boost for exhibitors during what is traditionally the softest month of the summer calendar.
Looking ahead, the gap to 2019 revenues could narrow further. The coming months feature Lionsgate's "The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping" in November, followed by a Dec. 18 double feature of Warner Bros.' "Dune: Part Three" and Disney's "Avengers: Doomsday."
