After three weekends in theaters, Sony/Marvel Studios’ “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” has made history as the eighth film to gross $2 billion at the global box office.
The milestone was assured after its $360 million domestic/$927 million global launch at the end of July, as the film enjoyed excellent reception from critics and audiences alike. With a $70 million domestic third weekend, the movie is well on course to keep on rolling past post-COVID shutdown megahits like “Avatar: The Way of Water” and “Ne Zha 2” to become the third film to reach $2.5 billion before inflation adjustment, joining “Avatar” and “Avengers: Endgame” in that elite club.
Domestically, the film is also pushing to become the highest grossing release of all time by passing the $936 million record set in 2016 by “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” Currently, “Brand New Day” is on pace to reach that mark with $785 million after three weekends, 5.6% ahead of the pace set by “Force Awakens,” though its mid-week grosses have been lower compared to that film’s holiday season run.
Theatrical sources tell TheWrap that “Brand New Day” is falling off the pace to become the first movie to gross $1 billion from domestic receipts alone but could still pass “The Force Awakens” with an estimated final total of around $960 million.
In second on the charts once again is Universal/Syncopy’s “The Odyssey” with $23.2 million in its second weekend, pushing Christopher Nolan’s film past $500 million in domestic grosses as it continues to show remarkable legs. For comparison, Nolan’s previous film “Oppenheimer,” once the highest grossing biopic of all time, had a fifth weekend total of $10.7 million.
In a narrow race for third are two dinosaur-focused new releases: Warner Bros./Bad Robot’s “The End of Oak Street” and Paramount/Spin Master’s “Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie.” Currently, “The End of Oak Street” has the edge with a $21 million domestic/$47 million global opening weekend.
Directed by David Robert Mitchell, the thriller about an emotionally distant family whose neighborhood gets dropped into a prehistoric world faces an uphill battle to theatrical profitability against its $80 million budget. To get there, it will need to get some solid word-of-mouth, particularly among Gen Xers and older millennials nostalgic for movies like “Jurassic Park” and “Jumanji.”
Currently, the film has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 85% critics and 78% audience to go with a B on CinemaScore and 3.5/5 on PostTrak, scores relatively consistent with last year’s “Jurassic World: Rebirth.” With kids going back to school in the U.S., it may be up to general audiences to carry this end-of-summer title.
“Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie” opened to $20.5 million from 3,545 locations. That’s just a couple steps below the $22.7 million opening of “Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie” in 2023.
“Paw Patrol” has become a major moneymaker for Paramount, earning billions in merchandise since its launch on Nick Jr. in 2013. With this mid-August release, Paramount and Spin Master are set to earn another windfall on “Dino Movie”-themed back-to-school supplies among the show’s under-8 core fanbase.
“Paw Patrol” has also been key to the rise of Jennifer Dodge, who served as an executive producer on the series since its inception and last year was named the President of Paramount Animation following the completion of the studio’s acquisition by Skydance. “The Dino Movie” is part of an animated slate that will be overseen by Dodge and an animated spin on the CBS reality series “Survivor” this holiday season and a Halloween-themed film based on the indie comic “Freddy the 13th” set for release in 2028.
Completing the top five is Trafalgar Releasing’s “Katseye: Wild Hearts,” a concert film and doc featuring the global pop group Katseye that grossed $4 million from just 724 locations, earning a solid per theater average of $5,533.
Just behind it is Focus Features’ “Six: The Musical Live!”, a proshot of the Tony-winning musical that imagines the six wives of King Henry VIII in a singing competition where they seek to both outdo each other and rewrite their stories. The film grossed $3 million from 1,462 locations, continuing the trend of musicals lifting up the special market after Bleecker Street/LD Entertainment’s “Hadestown” crossed $20 million in its theatrical run.
In seventh is Angel’s “The Brink of War” with a $2.6 million opening from 2,083 locations. The true story drama stars Jeff Daniels and Jared Harris as Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, retelling the crucial talks in Reykjavik that led to a nuclear arms treaty between the U.S. and the Soviet Union in 1987. The film has a 71% Rotten Tomatoes score.
In limited release, A24’s “Tony” added $706,676 from 37 theaters as it crossed $1 million while Mubi’s “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma” added $907,200 from its expansion to 54 theaters for a $1.2 million total. Both critically acclaimed indie films expand nationwide next weekend.
Finally, last weekend’s new releases are falling down the charts fast, as Universal’s “One Night Only” earned a limp $2.1 million second weekend for a 10-day domestic total of just $9.8 million amidst lukewarm word-of-mouth. Searchlight’s “Super Troopers 3” is sinking faster with just $1.4 million in its second weekend and a 10-day total of $6.6 million.
