Spider-Man: Brand New Day has used its web to recapture a once-faithful audience.
As a huge Marvel fan, I’m really excited about the new Spider-Man movie! It’s been a while – Tom Holland last swung into theaters as Spidey in No Way Home back in 2021, which was a massive hit, earning nearly $2 billion worldwide. Now, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, coming out July 31st, has a lot to live up to. The buzz is already incredible though, with predictions of over $450 million opening weekend globally! Plus, they’re bringing in Hulk and the Punisher for some awesome team-ups with Mark Ruffalo and Jon Bernthal – I can’t wait!
The film is quickly becoming a likely success after breaking records upon its Wednesday release in China. According to The Hollywood Reporter, it earned $16.5 million by 1:53 a.m. Eastern Time and was projected to make $37.4 million on its opening day. This would be the biggest opening day for an American superhero movie in China since Spider-Man: Far from Home opened with $36 million in 2019.
Even if the film doesn’t fully meet expectations, it’s already broken records. By midday, it had earned $16.5 million, exceeding the previous record of $9.4 million set by Venom: The Last Dance earlier this year. Although early predictions aren’t always accurate, Maoyan, a Chinese ticketing company, forecasts the film will earn around $255 million in China overall – making it the highest-grossing American movie there since 2019’s Avengers: Endgame ($632.1 million).
As a big Marvel fan, I’m really excited that Spider-Man: Brand New Day seems to be breaking a streak of bad luck for superhero movies in China! For years – between 2019 and 2023 – Chinese authorities limited how many American superhero films, especially from the MCU, could be shown there. In fact, we didn’t even get No Way Home! While Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania did eventually make it to China, they just weren’t as successful as hoped since 2023, so I’m hoping this new release changes things.
While China previously helped make Marvel movies like Avengers: Endgame (the second-highest-grossing film ever, earning $2.799 billion worldwide) huge successes, Chinese audiences are now increasingly favoring local films. For example, the animated sequel Ne Zha 2 (released in 2025) has become the fourth-highest-grossing movie of all time, and the first to make over $1 billion in a single country – China.
Whether the success of Marvel’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day will lead to a comeback for American superhero films in China is still uncertain. Spider-Man seems to resonate with Chinese viewers more than many other superheroes. However, this film’s release in China could make it Marvel’s biggest hit in years, breaking a recent pattern of underperforming movies like The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts and The Marvels.
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2026-07-29 16:49