Spider

Spider-Man: Brand New Day the fastest film to $500 million

The film breaks the record set by previous Marvel hit Avengers: Endgame

With great power comes … great box office numbers? Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the friendly neighbourhood webslinger's latest outing, has become the fastest film in history to cross the $500-million US mark at the North American box office, doing so in just seven days.

Brand New Day, a Marvel and Sony production, marks Tom Holland's fourth time suiting up to lead a Spider-Man film as Peter Parker. He stars alongside his wife Zendaya, as well as Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) fan favourites Jon Bernthal, Florence Pugh, Mark Ruffalo, and newcomer Sadie Sink.

Caught in a web: Spider-Man battles the Marvel machine in Brand New Day

The film, directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, broke the record set by another Marvel hit, Avengers: Endgame, which reached $500 million US domestically in eight days. Brand New Day also ranks just behind Endgame in the race to $1 billion US worldwide, crossing the threshold in only six days. Endgame still holds the record at five days.

On top of the state-of-the art effects, carefully choreographed action sequences and dramatic twists the MCU has become known for, pop culture analyst and content creator Mikael Melo says that Brand New Day has elements that broaden the appeal for casual and hardcore Marvel fans alike.

"No Way Home, it ended on such a cliffhanger," he said, referencing the previous Spider-Man instalment. "I think this is the first MCU movie in a while where people were like, 'No, we really need to see this before any spoilers hit the internet.'"

The fact that Sink's role in the film had not been announced before its release added another degree of suspense and anticipation, Melo says.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day strikes a darker tone, but is it doing too much?

He also thinks the film succeeded in balancing stand-alone accessibility with the crossovers and intertextual references fans expect.

"That's kind of what this movie did really well," Melo said, pointing to the appearance of franchise favourites such as Pugh and Bernthal's characters. "It gives context to people who might not know things, but also gives Easter eggs to people who have been following along this whole journey."

Is Marvel about to dominate the box office again?

He says the mega-wattage star power of Holland and Zendaya — who also co-starred in this summer's hugely successful adaptation of The Odyssey — shouldn't be underestimated.

"The Tom and Zendaya love story is really what is also drawing people who might not be superhero fans," Melo said, "but they're going with their friends because they're just like, ‘Yo, I love Tom and Zendaya, so why not?"

Cole Cooper is an intern with CBC Toronto's entertainment unit. Born and raised in Guelph, Ont., he's finishing his BA in journalism at Concordia University in Montreal. He can be reached at cole.cooper@cbc.ca