LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 29: Tom Holland attends the UK Premiere of “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on July 29, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/WireImage)
Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/WireImage
Spider-Man: Brand New Day recently accomplished what Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man: No Way Homeand every other blockbuster of the past decade failed to do: it surpassed Star Wars: The Force Awakens as the most popular domestic film of all time based on box office earnings. But that doesn’t mean more people saw Brand New Day than The Force Awakens.
The Force Awakens achieved $936.66 million after its release in December 2015, but Brand New Day blew past that number in 47 days. As of September 20, Brand New Day was inching closer and closer to the $1 billion mark (globally, it’s already made $2.4 billion). But the numbers require context.
It cost less to go to a movie in 2015. When The Force Awakens hit theaters, the average ticket price was $8.43, according to the National Association of Theatre Owners. Dividing its domestic total by that figure yields roughly 111 million admissions. Today, the average ticket price is $12.75 per EntTelligence. Applying that baseline to Brand New Day produces an estimate of approximately 73.7 million admissions.
In fact, The Force Awakens was never the most popular film in America at all based on ticket sales. On an admissions basis, Gone with the Wind has been the domestic champion for nearly nine decades, moving an estimated 202 million tickets, translating to more than $2.3 billion in today’s currency. The leaderboard is dominated by 20th-century blockbusters that played for months without home video competition, including the original 1977 Star Wars (178 million tickets) and The Sound of Music (143 million tickets). The Force Awakensranks at No. 11.
But inflation does not tell the whole story of how blockbuster films like Brand New Day make money. The popularity of premium large formats (PLFs) is an increasingly important factor.
Spider-Man Delivers Cross-Generational Appeal
Brand New Day also benefited from Spider-Man being Hollywood’s most bankable superhero. While the broader Marvel Cinematic Universe has endured fluctuating commercial fortunes and superhero fatigue across its post-Endgame slate, Spider-Man consistently shines.
Spidey’s appeal cuts across key generational lines, drawing both nostalgic older Millennials and Gen-Z, while playing equally well to families and hyper-dedicated comic fans. By delivering a grounded, high-stakes solo adventure following the multiverse excess of No Way Home, Sony and Marvel tapped into widespread franchise goodwill. Even with an overcrowded late-summer theatrical slate, the film demonstrated remarkable domestic legs, proving that well-executed, character-first tentpoles remain the lifeblood of the modern box office.
Streaming And Intellectual Property Will Boost The Performance Of ‘Brand New Day’
The Spider-Man franchise generated an estimated $940 million in streaming revenue from 2020 to 2025. Brand New Day will surely boost that number. Under Sony’s licensing agreement, Brand New Day will stream exclusively on Netflix for its initial 18-month subscription window before eventually moving over to Disney+.These streaming agreements guarantee licensing fees for Sony’s studio division.
The movie is undoubtedly creating an intellectual property windfall. The last widely reported standalone figure put Spider-Man licensed merchandise at $1.3 billion in global retail sales in a single year, but that figure dates to 2013. Given the tumultuous state of the entertainment industry, entertainment brands need every penny.
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