Tom Holland is having quite the year. After taking some much needed time off starting in 2022, the actor came back to the silver screen by making a huge splash. He was one of the stars of The Odyssey, which had a great box office opening and has maintained huge numbers throughout the summer. He also ran victory lap with Spider-Man: Brand New Day which had a historic run domestically, maintaining its number one spot week after week. On the heels of Holland's success, one of his directors, Joe Russo, is weighing in on why he's the last true movie star.

Joe Russo and his brother, Anthony, worked with Holland on a few Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, and the former Russo sibling recently discussed that collaboration. While speaking with CBR.com, Joe didn't hold back his admiration for the Spider-Man star and laid out several key elements that have arguably contributed to the British star endearing himself to audiences. Joe explained:

I agree that the way Holland takes on a character is unique from a lot of his peers. While contemporaries like Jacob Elordi and Timothee Chalamet seem to be taking inspiration from actors like Leonardo DiCaprio and Christian Bale, there is something far more old school about Holland's approach. He has a jovial energy of old Hollywood, kind of like a Gene Kelly. He’s youthful without feeling childish, and his energy is electric. This “vintage” quality is something Russo picked up on as well, as he said:

It’s hard to deny that there is something special about Tom Holland. It’s why filmmakers like Christopher Nolan, Paul King and of course, the Russo Brothers are jumping at the chance to work with. Holland never feels like he’s fighting for a performance. It flows naturally to him, and there's a charm he has that brings a very specific energy to the screen. Even though Joe alludes to other great performers of this generation, his claim that Holland is “the last great movie star” is quite bold.

Ultimately, I think what Joe Russo means is Holland may be the last great movie star by the old Hollywood standard of what a movie star is. The Cherry star, like a lot of early movie stars, is a studio darling. He is a fantastic tool to use in many different kinds of movies to play the boyish everyman. However, the modern-day definition of a movie star has changed. They can be an intense method actor like Daniel Day Lewis or even a powerhouse woman like Holland's own wife, Zendaya.

Holland may be his own unique kind of movie star in his own right, but there are a lot of up-in-comers bringing their own flair to modern moviemaking. We'll have to wait and see if the current popularity of Holland’s traditional charm will stand the test of time.

For now, fans can catch Tom Holland in two of the buzziest films on the 2026 movie calendar, The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day. They are in select theaters now for a limited time, as both of these films are at the tail-end of their theatrical runs. You can also revisit his performance as Peter Parker in the previous Spider-Man and Avengers movies, which are now streaming with a Disney+ subscription.

Remember when Sadie Sink was first spotted on the Spider-Man: Brand New Day set? We had no idea who she was playing, and the theories were all over the place. Now that the film has become the highest-grossing project on the 2026 movie schedule worldwide, it’s common knowledge that she’s our new Jean Grey. Now, it's been revealed that deciding how to show the mutant’s powers in this iteration came with a lot of trial and error.

We’ve seen Jean Grey in live-action two other times – as played by Famke Janssen in the original X-Men movies and Sophie Turner in Apocalypse and Dark Phoenix. In Brand New Day, the filmmakers were tasked with bringing audiences a whole new version of the character that we expect to see in many upcoming Marvel movies. When CinemaBlend spoke to Brand New Day's Visual Effects Supervisor at Sony Pictures Imageworks, Chris Waegner, he shared with us the process of bringing Jean’s powers to life. In his words:

If you’re not familiar with the filmmaking lingo, “previs” is the process of mapping out how shots in a movie are going to look before shooting even starts. So, prior to Sadie Sink stepping on set, the Brand New Day team had to think deeply about what Jean Grey’s powers were going to look like. And rather than relying on some sort of new visual effect, they decided to lean into Jean’s powers being shown mainly through choreography like this:

In a landscape where it feels like we’ve seen every VFX trick in the book, you've got to love Brand New Day’s approach to Jean Grey’s powers. Waegner suggested there were many different iterations of them during pre-production, but ultimately, leaning heavily on the choreography accomplished by over a hundred dancers won out. As he added:

Now, Brand New Day is absolutely filled with visual effects. For example, the movie was actually filmed in Scotland, so a lot of work was put into making Glasgow look like New York City. It’s pretty cool that, in the case of the movie’s complex villain, they went for a unique and unexpected approach. Seeing the choreography come together as Jean jumps from one host to the other is absolutely memorable, and such an impressive feat by the stunt team.

The latest Spider-Man movie is now available to rent and buy on digital platforms, and will come out on physical platforms on December 15. You can pre-order it on Amazon right now. I know I'll be rewatching it just to see Jean's powers come to life again!

Spider-Man: Brand New Day has webbed up a considerable amount of success since its release on the 2026 movie schedule this past July. The Destin Daniel Cretton-directed superhero flick has not only broken box office records but also earned acclaim from critics. What’s also notable about this particular flick is that lead actor Tom Holland contributed a significant amount of ideas compared to his previous Spidey flicks. Still, I wasn’t expecting him to cite The Lego Batman Movie when explaining one of his pitches.

Much of Brand New Day centers on Holland’s web-slinger being heralded by the people of New York due to his success in combating crime in the city. However, as Peter Parker, he lives a relatively isolated life following the ending of 2021’s No Way Home, in which the world forgets who he is. That ultimately causes Peter to become depressed, especially when he sees the full lives his former friends – MJ and Ned – are living. As Holland explained, this was something that was greatly informed by Lego Batman:

Chris McKay’s Lego Movie spinoff sees the Dark Knight earning serious praise from the citizens of Gotham City, who assume he’s living it up with celebrities in super models in his spare time. In reality, the Bat goes home to an empty cave and has a deep sense of loneliness that he initially tries to deny. While the film makes fun of Batman at times, it’s also quite sentimental. While I’ll admit that I wouldn’t have immediately pegged the funny flick as an inspiration for Brand New Day, it makes sense. Holland also said this about his pitch:

The Lego Batman Movie was very well reviewed and, quite frankly, it’s just a fun film. I love that it now has a small creative link to Tom Holland’s Spider-Man franchise. Also, kudos to Holland for finding varied sources of inspiration for his new movie. I’d say it all paid off, given the position responses to Brand New Day. Of course, there’s also now talk regarding what the future may hold. While a fifth film is far from confirmed at this point, Sony head honcho Tom Rothman suggests the future could be bright.

Now, a high bar has been set by Brand New Day, since it deftly balances the superhero thrills with the grounded character elements. And I love that we can thank Lego Batman for (inadvertently) contributing to that approach. McKay’s movie deserves its flowers, and this new revelation from Tom Holland serves as a small, but neat, addition to its legacy.

Check out Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which is currently playing in theaters nationwide. Also, grab an HBO Max subscription and stream The Lego Batman Movie now.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is showing no signs of slowing down, to the joy of fans who spent years watching the Marvel movies in order. The latest release is Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which broke records upon arriving in theaters. That movie featured plenty of familiar faces, including Jon Bernthal's Punisher, Mark Ruffalo's Hulk, and Florence Pugh's Yelena. It turns out that the latter actress was included thanks to Tom Holland himself. Let's break it all down.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day's trailer included Bruce Banner and The Punisher, but Yelena was more of a surprise. In a clip from The Tonight Show's Instagram, Pugh explained how her role in that blockbuster actually came about thanks to Holland. She started by offering:

Talk about a fun origin story. While Yelena has become a fan favorite character over the years, she was relatively unknown when debuting in Black Widow (which ish streaming with a Disney+ subscription). So when Tom Holland was asked about what heroes he'd like to see join his Spider-Man franchise, one might have assumed he'd name drop some of the big OG Avengers. Of course, that wasn't the case.

Later in the same interview, the Oscar-nominated actress spoke more about how Tom Holland brought her into the Spider-Man family. In her words:

Tom Holland might be known for accidentally revealing Marvel spoilers, but I've got to give him his flowers here. Despite limited screen time, Yelena was a delightful part of Brand New Day. I loved her calling Spidey's problems "small potatoes" and making him uncomfortable by meeting her in a spa aka her "office." Marvel fans often wonder why The Avengers aren't called in for solo movies, and Destin Daniel Cretton's movie addressed this by Peter going to Yelena for help. Add in the other heroes in the movie, and the latest Spider-Man movie felt like it was ripped straight from the comics.

Pugh will once again reprise her role as Yelena in Avengers: Doomsday as part of the 2026 movie release list. Fans are hoping that Spider-Man: Brand New Day's credits scene means that Holland pop up in that movie or Secret Wars, but it's currently unclear if that'll happen. Fingers crossed we get to see Peter and Yelana back onscreen together soon.

Moviegoers were partying like it was 2019 this weekend, as enough MCU fans stormed theaters to make Avengers: Endgame Encore the No. 1 flick at the weekend Box Office. The promise of new footage related to Avengers: Doomsday — which hits the 2026 movie calendar in December — was more than enough excuse for a rewatch, bringing in $26 million domestically for the second-highest-grossing movie of all time.

This week’s new releases were in a tight race with last weekend’s winner, Resident Evil, and while Primetime may have settled for fourth place overall (just barely!), Robert Pattinson’s crime thriller may be the weekend’s biggest winner when all’s said and done.

Take a look at the Box Office Top 10 below, then we can break down what happened and what we have to look forward to. (NOTE: * next to a title indicates a new release.)

Weekend Box Office: September 25-27, 2026

Avengers: Endgame Success Proves Fans Are Pumped For Avengers: Doomsday

It’s pretty obvious that people are excited about the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday, but fans’ turnout at the theater this weekend for a refresher course (and new footage) on Avengers: Endgame proves just how big this is going to be. Not only did Endgame Encore earn $26 million in the U.S. and Canada over the past three days, it gained another $60 million overseas for a three-day worldwide total of $86 million.

Now, with all-time global earnings totaling $2.885 billion, the gap has closed a bit between it and Avatar, which stands as the highest-grossing movie of all time with $2.932 billion.

As is to be expected when it comes to such highly anticipated Marvel fare, the Avengers: Doomsday scenes started to leak from screenings. Hopefully, fans can remember the Russo Brothers’ request to let all fans discover the surprises for themselves. Seriously, don’t be that guy.

Resident Evil Crosses $100 Million Domestically On Second Weekend

Between Avengers: Endgame’s return to theaters and a trio of new releases, Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil took a pretty steep 61% dive in its second weekend. However, it’s officially crossed into 9-digit territory, with $103.5 million domestically, and adding in $93 million internationally, the video game adaptation is quickly approaching a $200 million global tally.

Heart Of The Beast Tops Other New Releases, Because Brad Pitt And Dogs

Brad Pitt and his canine companion won the battle of the new releases, with Heart of the Beast taking third place overall with a $20 million debut. There was a lot of hype going into the weekend about the survival story, with Pitt saying the pup might be a better co-star than George Clooney (I wasn’t expecting that Ocean’s Eleven shade) and critics asking if a dog could win an Oscar.

Apparently, overseas audiences connect strongly with amazing dog stories, too, because the film added another $30.1 million for a worldwide total of $50.1 million after three days.

Primetime Is Really The Weekend Box Office’s Biggest Winner

But let’s talk about Primetime. The movie earned $19.2 million to fall out of the Top 3 by less than a million dollars, but there are other factors to consider. For one thing, the A24 thriller was only projected to bring in between $9 million and $15 million, so the race wasn’t even supposed to be that close.

Also, Primetime was made for a reported $15 million, while Heart of the Beast clocked in with a reported budget of $82 million, so the Robert Pattinson flick did a lot more in opening weekend to recoup those bucks.

Not only is that a big win for A24, but for Robert Pattinson, who’s having quite the year. He’s already appeared in The Drama and The Odyssey, and he’s still got Dune: Part Three coming in December. We can’t ignore Primetime’s director Lance Oppenheim, either, who’s also gotten a viral bump from You Can See Everything, his and Nathan Fielder’s upcoming documentary about Elizabeth Holmes.

How Did Critics Rate This Weekend’s New Releases?

The reviews of Primetime were pretty good (well, Chris Hansen had some harsh words about his portrayal, which is no surprise given how mean the movie is to Hansen). Will Rotten Tomatoes’ scores and CinemaScore’s audience keep it in the battle for a Top 5 spot in weeks to come? Take a peek at the ratings:

It’s interesting that DreamWorks’ Forgotten Island got the highest ratings across the board of this week’s new titles, but it finished below the other two. In fact, its $12.8 million was below low-end projections of $14 million. The animated fantasy film starring H.E.R, Dave Franco, Jenny Slate and more is definitely hoping these high scores can lead to long legs at the Box Office.

There’s definitely precedence for such a move. DreamWorks’ Puss in Boots: The Last Wish premiered to just $12.4 million in 2022 but ended up making $484.3 million worldwide by the end of its run.

What Can We Expect Next Weekend?

It won’t be an easy road for Forgotten Island or any of the September 25 releases, as next week sees the debut of a couple of highly anticipated movies. Tom Cruise’s Digger hits the big screen October 2, along with Verity starring Anne Hathaway, Josh Hartnett and Dakota Johnson.

Early reactions to Digger were pretty divisive, but everyone seems to agree the satirical dark comedy is a huge swing for Tom Cruise and director Alejandro G. Iñárritu. The movie is projected to make between $16 million and $26 million, according to Box Office Theory.

That should put it in tight competition with Verity, which is expected to bring in between $15 million and $25 million. Considering how close this race could be, Josh Hartnett and Anne Hathaway might want to try to get their family members on board to buy more tickets!

Be sure to hit the theater this upcoming weekend and then find me next Sunday to see how the Top 10 plays out.

What a year it’s been for Zendaya and Tom Holland. Not only did the couple star in two of this summer’s billion-dollar box office bangers, Spider-Man: Brand New Day and The Odyssey, they also found the time to get married. That fact was evident during a recent interview, where they were giving peak old married couple when Holland called out his wife for the wild number of beverages she was carrying around.

Tom Holland and Zendaya have been couples goals for literally years, with fans melting over the way the Spider-Man actor is always “Z’s best hype man.” He’s apparently even supportive of her drinking habit (nonalcoholic, of course), which was revealed during a conversation with KISS UK. When asked why she was carrying around a fully loaded four-drink carrier, Zendaya happily responded:

The interviewer continued to needle her good-naturedly over her full four-cup holder, and she defended herself a bit, saying:

That’s when Tom Holland, who had until this point just been bemusedly watching the interaction play out, jumped to call out Zendaya:

It very much reminds me of David Beckham’s viral “Be honest!” moment with wife Victoria, with Tom Holland laughing at Zendaya’s drink quirk. It was such a “married” thing to say, and still so loving that everyone in the room was laughing along with them.

I mean, if anybody knows about Zendaya’s penchant for multiple drinks, it would definitely be Tom Holland, who Anne Hathaway joked was his wife’s “hot beverage” boy during filming of The Odyssey. I always thought it was cute that Holland would casually swing by the Euphoria set, and now I’m wondering if he was just bringing her refills!

Fans have always loved Zendaya and Tom Holland’s relationship, from the way he will quickly and quietly fix a wardrobe malfunction to how he played tennis with her to help her prep for Challengers. It’s also because they are so funny together. We’ll never forget his drag performance on their episode of Lip Sync Battle, for one thing, She’s apparently not afraid to troll him about his height, either.

Hopefully Zendaya and Tom Holland will continue to grace us with these cute moments for many, many years, and if you want to see them in a more professional setting, you can still catch Spider-Man: Brand New Day and The Odyssey in theaters. And don’t forget to grab a beverage or four!

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a well-oiled machine at this point, with the studio consistently releasing new titles in theaters and streaming with a Disney+ subscription. The latest big screen adventure was Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which broke records at the box office upon its release. Although despite how great the movies are, it sounds like trying to plan a new Spidey film with Sony is a brutal challenge

Fans who spent years watching the Marvel movies in order were thrilled when Spider-Man entered in Captain America: Civil War, and his solo movies have been wildly popular. During an interview with The Bulwark, writer Chris McKenna (who has worked on all of Holland's solo films) got real about how hard i tis to nail down a villain. He spoke about nailing down Sadie Sink's Jean Grey, offering:

Honestly, my head is spinning. While making each new upcoming Marvel movie is a ton of work, the Spider-Man films have the added challenge of trying to please two different studios. After all, Marvel and Sony have a joint custody agreement with Holland's hero that can complicate things. Landing on villains seems to be a particular challenge for McKenna and company.

While Spider-Man has a ton of beloved villains to chose from for each new movie, Sony has its own plans that can sometimes collide with the vision for the Marvel films. In the same interview, the writer spoke about this popping up during No Way Home, and how the original plans conflicted with the animated Spider-Verse movies. In his words:

The Spot was a villain in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, and because of this Chris McKenna and the team behind No Way Home had to pivot and find another villain. In the end they'd compile a huge list of antagonists from across three franchises. So I guess they landed in the right place.

The acclaimed writer spoke more about how difficult it was to find the right villain for No Way Home, and revealed another bad guy from the comics they were going to include. He said:

Talk about FOMO. We've yet to see Kraven and Spider-Man face off on the big screen, despite being one of the most iconic members of his rogues gallery. He seemed like a natural fit to go against Tom Holland's Peter Parker, but those plans also got scrapped after Sony announced the ill-fated Kraven the Hunter movie. As the writer went on to share:

Well, this must have been maddening. Despite all the behind the scenes shakeups, Spider-Man: No Way Home found its villains, and ended up being both a critical and box office success. The same can also be said for Brand New Day, which introduced a new Jean Grey to the shared universe. We'll just have to wait and see what complications come out of Marvel's ongoing partnership with Sony for the franchise.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is still in theaters now as part of the 2026 movie release list. We'll just have to see when Spidey shows up next in the shared universe; the Brand New Day credits scene seemed to tease a role in Secret Wars.

I’d wanted to see Practical Magic 2 when it hit the 2026 release schedule, but I hadn’t been able to Week 1 thanks to a combo of work travel and an epic sinus infection. I’m taking care of my mother after a surgery this week, so my sister and I had exactly one day to grab a margarita and some popcorn and check out the sequel to the beloved ‘90s film we’d watched frequently in our youths.

We also have jobs, so there’s a limited window in which we can see movies after work, and when we tried to get tickets we were faced with a movie theater dilemma that has cropped up quite frequently: See the flick on a premium screen or don’t see it at all.

Here’s the thing. I want to support Practical Magic 2. I ultimately shelled out a whopping amount of cash for Practical Magic 2, but to be completely honest with you, I was really salty about it. If my sister and I were going to go together, I had to see the movie on Wednesday, and three of the four smaller screenings of the film that were happening across the two theaters near us around the same time were sold out by the time we were looking for tickets.

I know, I know the early bird gets the worm. There was one screening open, however, a premium format experience at a theater which I shall not name located in the suburb of a mid-sized city in the US. These tickets were almost $22 dollars compared to the $7 (plus fee for buying online) the regular screenings were!

We had this limited window, so we begrudgingly bought the pricey tickets, but I was really mad about my options. Clearly, there was demand to see this movie, but to be honest with you Practical Magic 2 is not The Odyssey. It’s not an Avengers movie, it doesn’t rely on any flashy practical effects to tell its story in any way, shape or form. In fact, the magic is a little folksy in this movie, and it probably would have been better had I not watched it being flashed on a larger screen than usual.

Here's What Happened.

Ultimately, there were 8 people who shelled out to see Practical Magic 2 on a Wednesday night in one of the largest theaters in town. There were three other completely booked – like even front row seats booked – screenings that night. I KNOW in my heart of hearts people want to see Practical Magic 2, but if tickets are over $20 bucks, there’s a wide swathe of people for movies like these who are just going to say, “Thanks, but no thanks, I’ll watch it streaming.”

Even if the theater made significantly more on those 8 people who begrudgingly bought premium tickets, context clues indicate the theater would have filled up more if the price had been more reasonable.

I get that movie theaters are between a rock and a hard place. They have these big budget screens they want to charge more for, and in a week like last week, Practical Magic 2 was the big, splashy new release. You have to put something in that theater. Still, I’d argue by doing so, they probably capped the number of people willing to shell out to see the movie. I think the other theaters being full and the premium screening being nearly empty proves that.

I also know movies like Spider-Man: Brand New Day and others have achieved insane box office numbers in recent months thanks to inflated ticket costs and that movies like this are helping to keep theaters healthy and in business. Some movies do look awesome on a premium screen. This week, doubtless most premium formats have shifted to Zach Cregger’s box office behemoth Resident Evil, which probably deserves to be seen on a giant screen.

I’m just saying we don’t have one of these tentpole movies in theaters every week, and a better system needs to be figured out to get butts in seats. Practical Magic 2 was adorable and (mostly) everything I wanted from a sequel to one of the nineties’ quirkiest films. However, there’s no world where I needed to see it on the biggest screen possible with the best sound possible. It was probably a worse experience that way. Don’t make me pay out the wazoo for it.

We’ve talked ad nauseum about how hot horror has been this summer, and I don’t think we should expect that to change as the spooky season creeps in. Resident Evil made sure to emphasize that point, dominating this weekend’s Box Office with a $60 million premiere. That’s officially the best start of any film in the Resident Evil franchise’s history, and it even crossed $100 million when international ticket sales were added in.

Meanwhile, Spider-Man: Brand New Day continued its slow descent ahead of Avengers: Doomsday’s release on the 2026 movie calendar — despite officially surpassing Star Wars: The Force Awakens as the highest grossing domestic release ever this week.

Practical Magic 2 held on to silver after its second weekend, and a couple of other new releases landed in the Top 10 — though Buddy was able to hold one new movie off the list … Oh, Buddy. Take a look at the Weekend Box Office chart, then we’ll break down the highlights below. (NOTE: * next to a title indicates a new release.)

Weekend Box Office: September 18-20, 2026

Resident Evil Scores Biggest Premiere In The Franchise’s History

The horror genre saw another record-setting weekend at the Box Office, with Resident Evil earning more than double any other movie adaptation of the video game series. Zach Cregger’s follow-up to Weapons beat the franchise’s previous-best Resident Evil: Afterlife from 2010, which earned $26.6 million over its first three days in 2010. Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City debuted to a franchise-low $5.3 million in 2021.

Only time will tell if this iteration starring Austin Abrams as the hilariously high-pitched screamer Bryan will overtake 2016’s Resident Evil: The Final Chapter ($314.1 million worldwide) as the most successful of the eight movies, but with Resident Evil adding $48.3 million overseas for a worldwide total so far of $108.3 million, it’s a good start.

Audiences’ interest in seeing how Zach Creggor handled the gore and horror of Resident Evil after Weapons was definitely a factor in helping the movie surpass debut projections in the $40 million to $50 million range. At least that was the case for me, as this was where I spent my movie money this weekend. The critical praise certainly didn’t hurt either.

How Critics And Audiences Rated This Week’s New Releases

Resident Evil was the biggest release this weekend, but the biblical drama Daniel and the Fiery Furnace and Ethan Hawke and Russell Crowe’s The Weight also made the Top 10. Bad news for the family-friendly Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom, though, as it just barely fell short of the list. What did Rotten Tomatoes and CinemaScore audiences think?

It’s a shame Shaun the Sheep didn’t get more attention, but maybe the good reviews can generate some interest to bump it into the Top 10 next week — especially since its $1.9 million premiere was so narrowly edged out by Casper Kelly’s Buddy ($1.93 million).

Daniel And The Fiery Furnace And The Weight Get Top 10 Premieres Amid The Transformers: The Movie’s 40th Anniversary

Daniel and The Fiery Furnace is a faith-based drama from Matthew and Daniel Kooman that tells the Old Testament story of Daniel and his exile in Babylon. Mena Massoud stars as the titular prophet, with Elijah Alexander playing King Nebuchadnezzar. Its $3.1 million debut weekend was good enough for seventh place.

Meanwhile, The Weight — a Depression-Era film starring Russell Crowe and Ethan Hawke — came in at No. 9 with $2.3 million against a reported budget of $2 million. Hawke plays widower Samuel Murphy who must fight to return to his daughter after being imprisoned at a work camp.

These premieres come alongside the return of The Transformers: The Movie, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary. The animated film based on the ‘80s TV series bombed when it hit theaters in 1986 but has since developed a cult following and was able to land at No. 8 this week with $3.1 million in ticket sales.

Practical Magic 2 Hangs On With Sub-Par Sophomore Weekend

Practical Magic 2 may have dethroned Spider-Man in its first weekend, but it did it with less-than-magical numbers. This week is more of the same, as it was able to hold onto the No. 2 spot, but it fell 59% in the process, earning just $12.1 million over the past three days. It’s only added $26.8 million outside of North America for a global total of $76.8 million, which isn’t likely to break even on its reported $75 million budget, after theaters take their half of the ticket sales.

As we predicted last week, Alan Ritchson’s Runner did fall out of the Top 5, but the Reacher star didn’t go far. The action-comedy co-starring Owen Wilson dropped just one spot to No. 6, with ticket sales falling 51% from opening weekend.

Next Week’s Releases Should Shake Up The Top 10

It will be interesting to see if Resident Evil’s multi-limbed monster can maintain its grasp on the top spot at the Box Office, with a few major releases coming September 25. Avengers: Endgame Encore hits theaters so Marvel fans can get a refresher course before Avengers: Doomsday in December. Rumors of bonus footage are likely to drum up even more interest and push that into the Top 10, with projections in the $20 millions, per Box Office Theory.

We’ve also got Forgotten Island from DreamWorks Animation, which is expected to bring in between $14 million and $19 million; Brad Pitt’s survival thriller Heart of the Beast projected to earn around $17 million; and A24’s Primetime starring Robert Pattinson estimated to premiere between $9 million and $15 million.

If those estimates come through, we’re going to have a whole new Top 10 next Sunday, so be sure to get out to the theater next weekend, then check back in to see where everything lands at the Box Office.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day marked Tom Holland’s seventh time playing the beloved Marvel superhero. And, as the actor has admitted lately, doing stunts isn’t like they were when he first started playing the character at 18. He’s got to stretch and take more breaks than before. And, funny enough, that fact actually inspired one great gag in the movie.

Those who've seen Brand New Day probably remembers the stretching scene. (I mean hasn’t everyone seen it? It just surpassed a top-grossing Star Wars movie at the box office, and it's the highest grossing film amongst 2026 movie releases.) Right before the wall-crawler fights some bad guys in the third act, he stops and works out his body a bit. Here’s what Tom Holland had to say about how that scene came to be:

Holland shared the story while on Late Night With Seth Meyers, and it is too good! I love this behind-the-scenes bit from the fan-favorite actor because, when I saw the scene for the first time, it felt like a natural requirement for Spidey given the character is a bit older now.

On an even funnier note Holland shared that he and the crew almost took the stretching bit in Brand New Day even further. In his words:

It's hard not to love the hilarious ideas Holland and director Destin Daniel Cretton were coming up with while filming Brand New Day. All in all, it sounds like a very collaborative and fun process on set.

As Holland admitted on the Late Night, reprising the role of Spider-Man this time was “a real kick in the nuts” and a “reality check” for him, because his body isn’t the same as it was when he first started over a decade ago. And, as he joked in another interview, he’s starting to feel "too old for this".

Holland turned 30 back in June and, five years prior, he actually made a comment that generated a lot of discussion. The Cherry star said, “If I’m playing Spider-Man after I’m 30, I’ve done something wrong.” Holland recently responded to the quote, saying that “maybe I need to change the quote to 37.”

The actor may not be a teenager anymore, but I definitely like to see him continue playing the character. He got super jacked this time around, proving he's still in great shape. Not only that, but it definitely feels like there’s a lot more that can be explored with his Peter Parker before he passes the baton.

Another Spider-Man movie hasn’t been added to the list of upcoming Marvel movies, but we know he’ll return. And let Tom Holland's BTS story remind us to remember to stretch before exercise. Because, hey even the friendly neighborhood hero needs to!

Among the late night personalities, Jimmy Fallon is not known for being particularly political. In fact, he’s actually spoken out about why he doesn’t really get into politics much on The Tonight Show in the past. Of late though, he’s dipped his toes in tepid water when it comes to Donald Trump jokes, and this week he unexpectedly dropped a zinger about the President of the United States and the behemoth box office run that has been Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day has already hit some global box office milestones in recent weeks, and now it’s back with a domestic record. It’s beat Star War: The Force Awakens to become the highest-grossing movie domestically. The news was all over the interwebs before Jimmy Fallon busted out the fact on his late night show, but his commentary came with a little bit of flair and a Trump joke.

Ba-dump bump. That's pretty light fare for late night Trump content. Yet, it was an unexpected joke, to be sure, and it served a dual purpose, as Fallon then launched into a bit about the Kennedy Center also changing its name (but everyone still calling it the Kennedy Center). It was a good segue, and marked the comedian delving further into political jokes.

In general, the monologue on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Wednesday was honestly really funny. He kicked off with Spidey, worked into a bit about the Kennedy Center name change and Trump, and tied it all together with a really funny bit about US senator’s last names. If you didn’t give it a watch yet, it’s well worth it.

Fallon has earned a bit less ire from President Donald Trump than some of his fellow late night hosts like Stephen Colbert (whom Trump wildly spoke about after The Late Show ended), Jimmy Kimmel and even fellow network alum Seth Meyers. Of course, the NBC program hasn’t faced some of the same scrutiny from the FCC Jimmy Kimmel Live! and others have faced in recent months, but Trump did once call Fallon “talentless,” so he’s been a social media target before, too.

It’s a weird landscape out there right now, but at least Spider-Man is still out there killing it at the box office. Plus, we have the upcoming release of another Marvel movie, yes I'm talking about Avengers: Doomsday coming up. Whether Fallon will make connections to that film with the administration remains to be seen though! Stay tuned as the holidays roll around.

It would be a gross understatement to say that Spider-Man: Brand New Day has been a box office juggernaut since its release as part of the 2026 movie schedule. After the film opened in late July, it remained No. 1 at the B.O. for five weeks in a row and was only just dethroned by Practical Magic 2. As it stands, the Tom Holland-led flick is now the highest grossing movie of the year and the third highest-grossing movie of all time. Now, it’s just overtaken another big record from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and Lucasfilm celebrated.

Since 2015, J.J. Abrams’ The Force Awakens held the record for the highest-grossing domestic release of all time with a whopping $936 million in North America. However, that record is no more, as Destin Daniel Cretton’s Brand New Day has notched $936.773 million domestically after 47 days in theaters. Upon that new benchmark being established, Lucafilm shared a fun graphic on Instagram, and I love just how perfect it is. Take a look for yourself, and I dare you not to crack a smile:

The sight of a triumphant Spider-Man celebrating while X-wings fly over the New York City landscape makes this nerd chuckle, and that Force-related caption is a perfect way to sum up this tremendous accomplishment. What warms my heart even more is that this gesture signifies a sizable amount of respect between studios and, over the years, it’s become a tradition of sorts. Sure, Disney owns both Lucasfilm and Marvel Studios (which co-produced this Spidey flick with Sony), but it’s still a lovely sign of admiration.

Aside from the Star Wars-centric studio, a couple of others have also given Brand New Day its flowers amid its historic run at the box office. Avengers: Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo celebrated after Cretton’s film overtook theirs for the highest domestic opening with $360 million. The brothers – who are currently working on Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars – marked the occasion with a sweet graphic as well, and it can be seen below:

There are so many adjectives that can be used to describe Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s success. I mean, there’s “amazing,” “spectacular” and “sensational,” just to name a few. After swinging past projections in its first weekend, the movie swung to $1 billion worldwide only six days after its release, and it eventually notched $2 billion after three weekends. Right now, this latest Marvel film sits at $2.45 billion worldwide, and I can’t help but wonder if it’ll move up another slot on the highest-grossing movie list before it’s all said and done.

Of course, at this point, questions remain in regard to what Sony, Marvel and Tom Holland want to do with the future of this franchise. It would seem foolish, on paper, not to make a fifth film with Holland in the lead. Sony’s Tom Rothman recently made a Super Bowl analogy while discussing the franchise’s future and essentially admitted he was unsure of what would happen. Something Holland has been adamant about, however, is having his Peter pass the baton to Miles Morales at some point.

Right now, though, I’m just locked in on the current Spidey film’s box office performance as well as the sweet gestures others have extended towards it. If the movie does hit any additional benchmarks before it leaves theaters, I wouldn’t be surprised if another studio or filmmaker released another celebratory graphic.

Anyone who somehow has yet to see Spider-Man: Brand New Day can swing over to a theater and check it out. Fans can also stream the first three films in the franchise using a Disney+ subscription.

Unofficially or otherwise, Spider-Man is the king of all 2026 movie releases by way of box office success, with Destin Daniel Cretton’s Brand New Day set to become the highest grossing movie domestically in U.S. history after its eighth weekend in theaters. (It’s currently around $1.5 million behind Star Wars: The Force Awakens.) Despite all that, this actually marks the first weekend that Spidey is in the #2 spot.

No, it wasn’t Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey returning to the #1 spot, though the fantasy epic did reach the milestone of crossing $600 million domestically, making it #18 on the all-time list of North American releases. Rather, it was Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock’s bewitching reunion for Practical Magic 2 that took the top honors, though one could assume that this first weekend’s grosses were hampered in part by lackluster critical takes and reviews.

Alan Ritchson, Buddy and new releases round out the biggest headlines from the weekend’s box office. So let’s take a look at the Top 10 and dive into the details from there. (NOTE: * next to a title indicates a new release.)

Weekend Box Ofice: September 11-13, 2026

Practical Magic 2 Takes Spider-Man's Crown, But Not As Impressively As Expected

Given that Practical Magic 2 has been the first theatrical release since Spider-Man to debut in over 4,000 theaters, the Susanne Bier-directed sequel definitely seemed like it was primed to knock Peter Parker down from his comfortable spot at #1. The fans did show up to make it happen, and were pleased as punch with what they saw, despite what critics thought.

That said, expectations for Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock getting the Owens family back together were loftier than the final numbers that came in. To reach its $30 million intake, Practical Magic 2 averaged around $7,200 per theater, which certainly topped everything else over the weekend. But compare that to Spider-Man's opening weekend, where the Tom Holland movie averaged over $80,000 per theater.

An arguably interesting footnote here is that the New York City-set Brand New Day lost its #1 spot on the weekend of 9/11. Perhaps those in the home state were busy watching restrospective specials and documentaries.

Alan Ritchson's New Action Movie Lands In Top 5

Earlier in Summer 2026, Alan Ritchson hit the box office with the critically acclaimed and mostly dialogue-free revenge flick Motor City, which grossed $2.7 million domestically on a more limited scale. His newest movie Runner, directed by Expendables 4 and Need For Speed's Scott Waugh, has already topped the other movie's total grosses with just its first weekend's box office total of $6.43 million.

Co-starring Owen Wilson, and distributed by the formerly feel-good studio Angel, Runner hits both the action and comedy elements pretty strongly, and the narrative of a fomer soldier putting it all on the line to make a life-saving medical delivery is easy to pick a side for. I don't expect to see this one still in the Top 5 for Week 2, but hopefully it can retain enough of an audience to show up lower down.

Buddy And Insidious Continue Horror Summer Wins

For all that Spidey and Christopher Nolan took over 2026, I feel safe in claming that Horror would in the third spot behind both of those, based in large part on major successes like Obsession and Backrooms. And as the summer season officially transitions into Halloween time, Buddy and Insidious: Out of the Further are keeping the genre in the conversation.

The Insidious sequel brought in over $60 million world wide during its first weekend, and crossed the $60 million mark domestically this past weekend, though it dropped from #5 to #7. Meanwhile, the magically sadist unicorn Buddy jumped up a spot from #7 to #6, though its weekend total dipped overall from the week prior. Casper Kelly's "Pee-Wee meets Barney" feature has garnered a ton of buzz on social media thanks to its merch-friendly visuals and oodles of unanswered questions.

Korea's Priciest Movie Ever Landed Bigger First-Week Win Than Andrew Garfield's Non-Robin Hood

Though it pales in comparison to the costs of U.S. blockbusters, the new Korean sci-fi action thriller Hope is the nation's most costly film to date, with a $33 million budget. A festival fave in spite of polarized reactions, Hope broke into the U.S. Top 10 averaging around $1 million a day at the box office. Which is no small feat for a movie fronted by largely unfamiliar stars; even recognizable talents like Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander are only lending voices for CGI characters. It looks like a wild and explosive creature feature that I'm now eager to see on the big screen.

Just below Hope is the The Uprising, the latest action-geared feature from Paul Greengrass, starring Andrew Garfield. It's not clear how The Uprising would have done in a vacuum, but it probably didn't help the film's chances when one of its distributors wrongly promoted the movie as dramatizing the legend of Robin Hood, which drew criticism from just about anyone paying attention, and probably didn't help its buzz grow.

What Movies Are We Looking Forward To Next Weekend?

Whether or not Practical Magic 2 fizzles or explodes in its second week of release, moviegoers have several options for what else they can find on the big screen next weekend. The most exciting impending release to yours truly, and the one that'll likely take the #1 spot, is the upcoming horror movie Resident Evil, co-written and directed by Weapons' Zach Cregger. Though it already has its own build-in backlash due to Cregger opting not to adapt any specific video game storylines, I still think it looks great and delivers on the games' signature tension and unpredictable nature.

Beyond that, we have Angelina Jolie's latest directorial effort Without Blood, a Salma Hayek-starring war drama that world-premiered at TIFF more than two years ago. Global animation hit Shaun The Sheep is back with a new movie, The Beast of Mossy Bottom, while those hoping for more mature fare will probably opt for Ethan Hawke and Russell Crowe's labor camp drama The Weight.

How many of the new releases will land in the Top 10? Will Buddy step up and help take down Resident Evil's monsters? Wait, no, that's not possible at all. But check back with us next week to see how everything fell into place.

There’s no question The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day have been massive for the 2026 box office. Heading into the summer, the movie ticket season was 24% behind in revenue domestically from where it was at the same time in 2019 –before the pandemic changed viewing habits for quite some time. However, heading into fall, we’re now just 7.5% behind domestically. Narrowing that gap has been a feat, and we can thank Christopher Nolan, Destin Daniel Cretton and co for a huge chunk of the win there. Yet, I think by focusing on these two movies, we’re missing out on the really interesting story.

Yes, The Odyssey And Brand New Day Have Made A Lot Of Money

The Odyssey hit theaters back on July 17, and has been printing money for almost two months now. Meanwhile, Spider-Man: Brand New Day hit the 2026 release schedule on July 31. So far, Nolan’s movie has raked in $1,640,796,617 globally at the time of this writing, while Sony’s Marvel movie has done even better, pulling $2,412,641,938 by mid-September. Combined, that’s globally well over 4 billion dollars. Domestically, it’s not too shabby either, as Spidey’s brought in $925 million (and still winning box office week after week) and Odyssey’s done $591 million on the home front.

One additional thing that’s worth noting about The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day is the fact both are still in theaters and quietly driving new revenue every day. The Odyssey, in fact, just extended its IMAX run until the end of September, and we know premium formats like IMAX can bring in higher revenue rates than your average theater.

Again, there’s no doubt these two movies specifically have made a huge impact this summer, but here’s the stat that will knock your socks off: Domestically, movies in general have brought in $4.76 billion in ticket sales between May and September. That’s the largest amount in that moviegoing stretch in cinema history, and we can’t give all the credit to just these two behemoths.

The Movies That Really Kicked 2026 Into High Gear

However, I’d argue it’s the movies we’re talking about less that really rejuvenated the box office in 2026. The summer movie season arguably kicked off with The Devil Wears Prada 2, which made a splashy entrance with fashionable red carpets and Emily Blunt hiding her outfit behind a dumpster. Domestically, The Devil Wears Prada 2 brought in over $220 million, and over $693 globablly.

Of course, we have been talking about what came next: the double horror duo of Obsession and Backrooms, both which over-performed and broke records. We’d be remiss if we didn’t bring up that Michael made over $372 million domestically and over a billion dollars globally, though there's a question about whether a sequel will ever see the light of day. And Toy Story 5 wasn’t exactly fighting an uphill battle at the box office either. That movie made over $480 million domestically and over a billion globally, too.

What do all of these movies have in common? They offer options for a range of audiences, from families to youngsters who love jump scares. There’s been a push to get more of a wide variety of content into theaters. Horror. Animation. Biopics. Fashion. Comedy. The real interesting story here is that this summer has not just been defined by a couple of tentpole movies. People who love all different kinds of things are getting back to theaters, baby.

In short, we don’t know if movies coming out in the fall and early winter will get 2026’s final box office numbers up passed where they were back in 2019; although unlike four months ago, it's actually looking like a possibility. However, with Jumanji: Open World, the next MCU film Avengers: Doomsday and Dune 3 coming down the pipeline, and Dunesday already making major sales, there’s reason to be optimistic, and to hope for an even wider slate of summer movies in the years to come.

A rare dual spoiler warning for those who haven’t yet watched either Casper Kelly’s Buddy nor Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

The critics-pleasing new horror movie Buddy hasn’t exactly kneecapped mega-blockbusters Spider-Man: Brand New Day and The Odyssey at the box office, but Casper Kelly’s colorfully calamitous feature broke into the Top 10 in its first week of release, and capitalized on an uptick in theaters for Week 2. Fans are loving the big orange unicorn voiced by Keegan Michael Key, and I’m absolutely in that majority.

Which isn’t to say that I came out of Buddy with a complete understanding of its lore and how things work in this bonkers universe. I still have several lingering questions and curiosities about what went down for Grace, Freddy and other characters. Though I wouldn’t have expected my biggest question from this 2026 movie release to basically be the same one I had coming out of the latest Spider-Man sequel.

Both Movies Deal With Forms Of Memory Manipulation That Aren't Fully Explained

Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s emotional hook, in large part, stemmed from Peter dealing with the aftermath of Doctor Strange’s spell that made everyone forget who Peter is – MJ and Ned in particular — with the ending offering possible hope for that spell to have been broken. But with that hope came lots of confusion and questions about how exactly the human brain’s ability to form memory works against pure magic. And we’ll likely continue asking that question until some future movie answers it.

Buddy doesn’t have any superheroes (that we know of), but there is definitely a kind of dark and evil magic at work dressed up like children’s entertainment. This one doesn’t solely affect memories, though, as it’s made clear during the horror movie’s runtime that reality itself changes whenever a child or adult is swayed into entering their TV screen to join the cast of “It’s Buddy.”

The family sticker on the car window is the clearest indicator, but a far more dramatic version happens even as Cristin Milioti’s Grace is still mostly within the real world, so to speak, with Topher Grace’s Ben seemingly unable to see his in-crisis wife freaking out, followed by a complete bedroom change once she’s fully enveloped. Which leads me to ask…

My Biggest Question: How Are Family Members' Memories And Realities Affected By The Buddy-Verse?

It's unclear exactly when Delaney Quinn's Freddy was drawn into joining Buddy's TV show, but that doesn't seem to have happened very long before the film kicks off, since she still looks the same in the flashback memories near the end. So it appears as if the family was living life normally, and presumably without school administrators calling to ask about Freddy's absences. For most intents and purposes, she and the other kids apparently cease to exist in clear ways to outsiders.

Which makes me wonder how exactly Grace's fleeting memories ended up being the key to breaking through that faux reality. When Freddy and Wade first suspected Buddy of killing Josh, did it crack that reality enough for a sliver of the truth to shine through in Grace's mind? I'll just assume the mother-child connection is why only Grace is affected, while Ben never stops sucking.

If that scenario is indeed close to what screenwriters Casper Kelly and Jamie King had in mind, then I'm newly horrified by the thought of Wade, Oliver and Hannah's respective mothers going through the same emotional turmoil as Grace, but without ever finding their children. I really can't imagine what George's parents must have gone through.

I Have Lots Of Questions Beyond The Memory Stuff

Since I don't expect Buddy's creative team to immediately offer any concrete explanations for characters' memory distortions, I might as well throw out some of the other overarching questions I had while watching.

1. Do the other two unicorns, Bobby and Benny, have their own shows, or did Buddy kill them, too?
2. If going into the Buddy-verse can make everyday objects anthropomorphic like Freddy's backpack, then what's up with those real mailboxes with fake eyes on them? [Pictured above]
3. Is there an area in that school/studio with an actual train locomotive to use as a Charlie replacement?
4. How many children have been "It's Buddy!" cast members?
5. How many children escaped Buddy's yard like George and Willie?
6. Why wasn't Mr. Mailbox's door fixed when "new episodes" started?
7. Is there a "real" person inside the Betty Bunny suit?
8. Is Buddy having sex with Betty and/or the nurses (as partially implied when he lasciviously licked Grace's face)?
9. Are the mail workers and nurses random adults, or are they often parents of the children?
10. Are the names in the "It's Buddy!" credits important to the lore?

I could have kept going with the questions, honestly, but l have this one dining room chair that I definitely need to put in the garage for some reason.

We’ve already seen it twice this year — the low-budget horror films Obsession and Backrooms saw unexpectedly massive success at the Box Office. Now, we may have another title to add to that list, as Buddy benefited from word-of-mouth advertising to increase ticket sales in its second weekend on the 2026 movie calendar. Casper Kelly's orange unicorn earned $5.7 million from Friday to Sunday and is expected to end the holiday weekend with around $7 million once Monday’s totals are added.

We've also got to discuss what Spider-Man: Brand New Day has done, because the Tom Holland-led Marvel movie took top Box Office honors for a sixth weekend in a row, breaking another record as it crossed $900 million domestically.

Coyote vs. Acme also had a phenomenal sophomore outing, so let’s take a look at the Top 10, per The Numbers, and then dig a little deeper into Labor Day weekend’s hits and misses. (* denotes a new release.)

Weekend Box Office: September 4-6, 2026

Buddy Outearns Its Debut Weekend To Become The Newest Horror Hit

Buddy, the movie that critics compared to Barney & Friends (if the purple dinosaur had a violent streak), had the year’s biggest opening for a film playing on fewer than 1,800 screens last week with $5.4 million. Theaters responded by adding about 500 screens for Labor Day weekend, which resulted in $5.7 million, per JoBlo — a 6% bump for its second three-day weekend.

I definitely made a point to see Buddy this weekend, and it exceeded my expectations. Every Saturday showing at my local theater was close to capacity, so I’m not surprised to see that it’s continuing to do so well. Now if I could just get that theme song out of my head … “He’s cuddly, snuggly, our best friend!”

Spider-Man: Brand New Day Wins Sixth Gold In A Row As It Surpasses $900 Million Domestic

Spider-Man: Brand New Day crossed the $900 million mark at the domestic box office on Friday, becoming the fastest movie to do so 36 days into its release. That breaks the record set in 2015 by Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which did it in 50 days. The MCU product finished the three-day weekend with another $18 million for a total of $917.8 million in North America.

The Tom Holland and Zendaya flick is all but certain to surpass The Force Awakens as the highest-grossing domestic movie of all time ($936.66 million), but we’ll have to see if it will become the first ever to hit 10 digits. Meanwhile, globally, it looks like Brand New Day will settle for third overall, with its $2.4 billion not likely to catch or surpass 2009’s Avatar ($2.92 billion) or 2019’s Avengers: Endgame ($2.79 billion).

One more fun stat: Spider-Man’s six-week run as the Box Office No. 1 is the longest streak since 2022’s Avatar: The Way of Water, which held the top spot for seven consecutive weekends. However, I fear next week's releases might finally overtake Spidey. More on that below.

Coyote Vs. Acme Has Impressive Second-Weekend Showing

Buddy may have been the biggest Week 2 surprise, but I’d be remiss not to mention the phenomenal sophomore outing of Looney Tunes’ highest-rated feature. After debuting above The Odyssey at No. 2 last week, Coyote Vs. Acme fell just 29% to earn another $11.3 million this weekend. That’s especially exciting given the fact that fans weren’t sure this movie would ever make it to theaters after Warner Bros. shelved the completed product in 2023.

Ridley Scott’s The Dog Stars didn’t fare as well as its counterparts in its second weekend, falling 65% after a disappointing debut.

By Any Means Stands As The Only New Release To Score A Top 10 Spot

By Any Means had a tepid premiere weekend, earning just $7.4 million against its reported $29 million budget. However, that was good enough for fourth place — and the only new release to make the list. Critics had some serious issues with Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Mark Wahlberg’s Civil Rights Era crime thriller, but audiences were far more forgiving. Let’s look at how Rotten Tomatoes and CinemaScore’s audiences felt about the trio of new movies:

We’ll have to see if the higher audience rating brings any word-of-mouth advertising to By Any Means, but given the lukewarm reception all around for the other two, I’m not betting that we’ll see them join the Top 10 next week.

What Movies Are We Looking Forward To Next Week?

There are a handful of titles set for release on September 11, with Practical Magic 2 being the biggest. The highly anticipated sequel to the 1998 flick reunites Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock as the Owens sisters, and it’s projected to bring in anywhere from $40 million to $54 million — which would be enough to unseat Spider-Man: Brand New Day from its throne.

Meanwhile, Andrew Garfield’s period drama The Uprising has high-end projections of $8 million but will likely fall closer to $4.6 million, per Box Office Theory. Liam Neeson’s new action flick The Fix, the documentary Oasis: Don't Look Back in Anger and Alan Ritchson’s Runner (not to be confused with Gal Gadot’s The Runner) are all projected to come in at under $5 million.

Will any of these movies surprise us next week? How close will Brand New Day get to becoming the biggest domestic earner of all time? Will Buddy continue to captivate audiences with his catchy, musical life lessons? Be sure to hit the theater this week, then come back next Sunday to see where your favorites fall.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day has been acclaimed for more than a few reasons, especially the way in which it furthers the journey of Tom Holland’s Peter Parker. This new chapter in Parker’s life also includes a few familiar faces, including Zendaya’s Michelle Jones and Jacob Batalon’s Ned Leeds. Of course, not everyone from the “Home” trilogy was brought back for the fourth installment, including Angourie Rice’s Betty Brant. Now, Rice is sharing her feelings about not being included in the 2026 movie schedule release.

Rice appeared as Betty – classmate of Peter’s at Midtown School of Science and Technology – throughout the first three installments in Marvel Studios’ Spider-Man series. An aspiring journalist, Betty would sometimes find herself caught in the crosshairs of the dangers that Spider-Man must contend with. Rice recently spoke with Collider about not being brought back for Brand New Day. With that, the Honor Society star clarified whether her character was ever meant to be involved in the narrative:

Considering how much has changed in Parker’s world by the time the events of BND are set in motion, it makes sense that Betty wouldn’t be around. That rings true to the point Rice makes about this movie representing “a new era.” And, as she mentions, "everybody forgets" who Peter is by the end of No Way Home, so it makes sense that Betty wouldn't be in the movie. Despite that, it admittedly would’ve been nice to see Betty in some capacity, given how this series has birthed some fun supporting characters. That detail was also mentioned during Rice’s interview, and she agreed:

So, given Betty’s absence, there’s one lingering question: what’s she up to during Brand New Day? Rice has a take on that, and it makes sense:

Hopefully, Brant is indeed on her way to joining a major and respected news outlet within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. When fans last saw her in 2021’s No Way Home, she was interning for J. Jonah Jameson at the controversial Daily Bugle. All of that aside, I’m glad to see Rice has an upbeat attitude about not being involved in this latest Spidey movie. She’s also long shared positive thoughts about her tenure in the MCU, despite having to handle the massive secrecy that surrounds the franchise.

Speaking of which, the future seems bright for the Spider-Man series, and Sony Pictures Chairman Tom Rothman is hopeful about a fifth movie being made at some point. And, even if that’s not the case, the Brand New Day post-credits scene suggests Parker’s story could continue in at least one of the upcoming Avengers movies. Angourie Rice’s Betty may not be involved in any of Peter’s continued adventures either way, but it’s still just comforting to know that she exists within this continuity somewhere.

Check out Rice’s appearances as Betty by streaming the Spider-Man “Home” trilogy with a Disney+ subscription. And, of course, check out Brand New Day in theaters now!

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is always releasing exciting new content, both in theaters and streaming with a Disney+ subscription. The latest big screen release was Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which broke records at the box office and is still making money to this day. And Kevin Feige recently explained the wild way that Brand New Day's ending mirrored the first day of shooting the blockbuster. Let's break it all down.

While fans are still trying to decode Brand New Day's credits scene, more information about its production is slowly trickling out. Marvel boss Kevin Feige recently spoke at his alma matter USC about the movie's production (via Instagram) where she spoke about the explosive way filming began. In his words:

This definitely got the internet talking, on top of attracting crowds to watch as Spider-Man swung through the air practically. On top of starting off production for Destin Daniel Cretton's movie with a bang, this moment of fan excitement came full circle when it came to shooting the movie's ending hospital scene.

The Punisher accidentally shoots Spidey during the movie's final battle, and he spends time in the hospital as a result. Frank Castle helps him leave the place undetected, as a crowd of adoring fans waited outside. In the same appearance, Kevin Feige shared how this connected to Brand New Day's first day of filming, offering:

Talk about a full circle moment. Sometimes art can imitate life, and it seems like that's exactly what happened during the production of Spider-Man: Brand New Day. In the end this synergy helped make the movie one of Marvel's biggest success stories in years. And fans are already hoping to see Spidey back on the big screen in one of the upcoming Marvel movies like Avengers: Doomsday or Secret Wars.

Brand New Day is still in theaters now as part of the 2026 movie release list. The next Marvel movie hitting theaters will be Doomsday on December 18th. Hopefully Peter Parker will get in on the fun.

All eyes are on Spider-Man: Brand New Day right now, as each week it crawls closer to becoming the highest-grossing movie of all time. This weekend pushed it toward that ultimate destination, as it took first-place honors at the Box Office — just like it has all five weekends it’s been in theaters. Admittedly, the gap between first and second place this week wasn’t as wide as it has been, with Coyote vs. Acme making a triumphant debut on the 2026 movie calendar, years after it was shelved by Warner Bros.

Below we’ll look at where Tom Holland’s Marvel blockbuster stands in its climb to the top, as well as just how badly Ridley Scott’s The Dog Stars flopped on opening weekend and how audiences responded to the new horror movie, Buddy.

First, though, take a look at the Weekend Box Office Top 10 chart, per The Numbers. (* designates a new release)

Weekend Box Office: August 28-30, 2026

Spider-Man: Brand New Day Moves Up On Lists Of Top-Grossing Movies

There’s only one movie that stands in the way of Destin Daniel Cretton’s new Spider-Man movie, and it comes from a galaxy far, far away. Brand New Day added $22.2 million this weekend to push it into second-place all-time on the list of highest-grossing domestic movies with $891.5 million. Only Star Wars: The Force Awakens from 2015 has earned more in the U.S. and Canada with $936.6 million.

It feels inevitable that Spider-Man will surpass the Star Wars flick, though it may take a couple weeks. Will it keep going past that to become the first movie ever to surpass $1 billion domestically? Only time will tell.

Globally, meanwhile, Brand New Day did bump Titanic from the Top 5 Lifetime Grosses list. In fact, Spidey’s $2.332 billion pushed it past James Cameron’s 1997 disaster romance and the Chinese blockbuster Ne Zha 2. It’s now knocking on the door of Avatar: The Way of Water, which accumulated $2.334 billion in 2022.

After that, it will still have 2009’s Avatar ($2.92 billion) and 2019’s Avengers: Endgame ($2.79 billion) to contend with for global domination.

Looney Tunes Fans Show Up For Coyote Vs. Acme’s Long-Awaited Release

This was truly a celebratory weekend for the Looney Tunes fans out there, as a movie we thought might never see the light of day made its debut in theaters. Coyote vs. Acme earned $15.5 million on opening weekend, which was good for second place behind Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

The movie was scrapped by Warner Bros. as a tax write-off back in 2023. This caused tons of backlash from fans, who rallied support for the movie to be released. In the end, it was Ketchup Entertainment that purchased the movie and got it done.

Coyote vs. Acme sees Wile E. Coyote deciding to sue the fictional company Acme after enduring years of pain and countless injuries caused by defective devices purchased in the pursuit of catching the Road Runner. Will Forte and John Cena star as the respective attorneys. The movie broke Rotten Tomatoes records on opening day, and the general consensus from reviews is that the movie was worth the wait. So how did Rotten Tomatoes and CinemaScore audiences score this and the week’s other new releases?

The Dog Stars Sees Disappointing $8 Million Debut

It looks like The Dog Stars won’t be the one that wins Ridley Scott his Oscar. Despite an impressive cast that includes Jacob Elordi, Josh Brolin, Margaret Qualley, Alison Janney and Guy Pearce — and reviews comparing Elordi to a young Kevin Costner — the sci-fi action thriller failed to impress critics, and the slightly better audience scores were still tepid.

In addition to the $8 million it earned in the United States and Canada, The Dog Stars earned $11.3 million overseas, but that $19.3 million overall pull is a long way from making back its $80 million budget.

Can Buddy Generate Some Word-Of-Mouth Advertising?

The weekend’s other new release, Buddy, fell just below The Dog Stars at No. 6 and, while director Casper Kelly hasn’t revealed the movie’s budget, it’s safe to say it was far less than $80 million. Drawing $5.4 million in its first three days, Buddy was produced modestly enough, Kelly said, that, “whatever happens, it will make its money back eventually!”

He also says there are prequel and sequel ideas, if the movie does do well so, hopefully, those audience scores will generate some word-of-mouth advertising for the movie that critics can’t stop comparing to Barney & Friends.

Insidious: Out Of The Further And Mutiny See Big Second-Weekend Drops

Insidious: Out of the Further fell two spots from its premiere weekend to No. 4, earning another $10.1 million domestically. While that’s a 60% drop from its first three days, the Insidious series’ sixth film continued to earn overseas as well, and to date it’s accumulated $110.2 million worldwide. Working from an $18 million budget, I’d say Sony Pictures is likely happy with how this film’s done.

Mutiny, on the other hand, may not be a horror movie, but I think I heard some screams from Lionsgate, as the Alan Ritchson movie fell 64% from opening weekend with the $2.8 million it earned over the past three days. Its global total is now $16.5 million after 10 days in release, and it’s going to be hard to turn a profit on its $40 million budget.

Will next weekend be the one that ousts Spider-Man: Brand New Day from the top spot? I'm not sure there are any current or new releases strong enough to do that, but Spidey's reign can't last forever, right? Be sure to take a trip to the theater this week, then check back next Sunday to see if your favorite movies made the Box Office Top 10.

Tom Holland and Zendaya are just married. Despite the rumor mill and the coincidence that was Zendaya method dressing for her hit 2026 movie release The Drama, Law Roach and finally the couple themselves confirmed the nuptials happened. It was about time, too, as the game of talking around it was starting to get a little stale.

What’s not stale? Holland his partner (nicknamed Maree by the Spidey star)’s full romance timeline. It’s amazing they’ve been spending time together for over a decade, now, and managed to maintain a lovely, private, but fully blossoming romance while still spending a ton of time in the public eye. This is how they did it.

Mid-Late 2016: Remember When Both Stars Were Very Active On Instagram?

Tom Holland and Zendaya made their big screen debut together in Spider-Man: Homecoming. That one came out in 2017, but as often happens with big movie releases, it actually started filming quite a bit earlier. Zendaya and Tom Holland actually had a lot of heartwarming moments on the press, starting in the summer of 2016 when the movie filmed and continuing ahead of release.

At the time, they couldn’t have known what was ahead from both career and relationship standpoints.

July, 2017 – Rumors Start To Spread About Them Dating (Plus, Lip Sync Battle)

Tom Holland and Zendaya filmed Spider-Man: Homecoming together a year prior to the release of the actual Marvel movie, but from early on after Z was confirmed to play MJ, there were plenty of rumors flying around about their relationship. At the time of the flick’s release, an insider seemingly confirmed (via People) they’d been seeing one another for a while.

That month, Holland and Zendaya also famously appeared on the popular series Lip Sync Battle, otherwise known as the episode where Tom Holland dressed in drag and performed Rihanna’s "Umbrella." People still ask the actor about his Lip Sync Battle to this day, and it’s clear from the appearance the two were spending time together.

August, 2017: Zendaya Says That They're Just Friends

Per usual, Zendaya liked to throw a little water on the fire. A month after rumors ran around they might very well be seeing one another, she dissented saying in a famous interview with interview with Variety they were “just friends.”

Listen, Zendaya, I’ve seen that Ryan Reynolds movie and I know how it ends.

May, 2018: Met Gala Momentum

In May of 2018, Zendaya was seen in armor for “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.” She’s been in wilder outfits at this point, including her Dune C3P0 armor, but out the time this was pretty outlandish for the star, and a very memorable celebrity fashion moment. Tom Holland didn’t attend with her, but he did say the following on social media:

They were leaving breadcrumbs at this point, but very much in the pal "mate" phase on social media.

June, 2019: Peter and MJ Shared Their First On-Screen Kiss In Spider-Man: Far From Home

Tom Holland and Zendaya were not officially confirmed to be together when they filmed Spider-Man: Far From Home. In fact, we were more than a year away from a confirmation at this point, but MJ and Peter Parker taking things a step forward certainly did nothing to dissuade the rumor mill.

Jul-Sept, 2021: Tom Holland And Zendaya In A Car, K-I-S-S-I-N-G (+ Instagram Official)

By 2021, the rumors Zendaya and Tom Holland had gone on date nights seemed pretty substantial, and were seemingly confirmed when Page Six caught them kissing in a car in July of that year. Would Tom Holland and Zendaya have confirmed they were dating otherwise? We'll probably never know, because they were caught.

With the cat out of the bag, just a couple of months later, Tom Holland celebrated Zendaya's birthday with this cool post:

In 2021, a lot of famous a-listers were still frequent posters and Holland was no exception. He's said several times over the past few years he'll delete Instagram on his phone for his mental health. There are some exceptions, like specifically popping on for a Bero campaign, etc, but he was much more online still around this time.

October, 2021: Zendaya Shared What She Likes About Tom Holland

If this were a Zendaya article, I'd be talking about her awesome In Style cover. It's bomb.com, but what she said inside about her new beau Tom Holland was the real page-turner.

I have seen separate footage of Tom Holland offering Zendaya a Jaffa Cake, and in no way, shape or form, does she sound British.

January, 2022: The One Where We Thought Tom Holland Would Cameo In Euphoria

By 2022, the two were posting about one another on social media on the regular for releases like Spider-Man: No Way Home or other events when Zendaya looked stunning on the red carpet. In January of that year, Zendaya also spilled the beans about Tom Holland popping by the Euphoria set during Season 2. At the time, she even teased a cameo in an interview with Access Hollywood, noting, "Maybe we can get him in the background of a shot eventually."

Chloe Cherry later confirmed to CinemaBlend he would just pop by, telling us:

There was a long period of time when I hoped this cameo would happen, but given the way Euphoria Season 3 ended, that feels unlikely now.

Feb, 2022-Early 2023: The Two Glowed On The Red Carpet (And At Other Events)

As often happens with a-lister celebrity couples, Tom Holland and Zendaya were mostly noted for their work and their red carpet appearances in 2022 and 2023. They were firmly together in the public eye at this point and were photographed together for all of the Spider-Man promotional stuff at the end of 2021. In 2022, Holland's blockbuster Uncharted debuted, and Zendaya was seen holding hands with him in New York around the time he was doing press. They visited the Louvre and also reportedly took a trip to see Usher in Mumbai.

Closer to home, they were photographed together during a Los Angeles Lakers vs. the Golden State Warriors game in May of 2023. The two got around. During this period, Tom Holland also famously got sober.

June, 2023: Tom Holland Opened Up About Keeping Their Relationship Private

In 2023, Tom Holland first got candid about taking initiative to keep his relationship with Zendaya private. He said at the time:

This was the first time he really got candid about their philosophy. However, In the time since, this has become a common theme for both stars. Zendaya spoke about this again a few years later when she confirmed she likes to keep things under lock and key so the Internet doesn't catch wind of it.

February, 2024: Tom Holland And Zendaya Perfected Privacy In The Moment With Dune 2

We know Tom Holland and Zendaya like privacy, and while they often have to do red carpets together when they star in the same movie, when it is their time to shine, they have a system. This was reported on in a big way with Dune 2 when Zendaya walked the red carpet alone, and Tom Holland joined her at the afterparty following the event in Leicester Square in which she donned her now-infamous armored look. Way to have your cake and eat it too.

January, 2025: Tom Holland And Zendaya Got Engaged!

While rumors began spreading at the 2025 Golden Globes thanks to the rock on Zendaya's finger, and independent outlets seemingly confirmed it, Tom Holland’s father actually confirmed the couple got engaged a short time later. He said it happened over the holidays, and that his son had done the traditional thing and asked for permission from Zendaya's dad in advance. So, it didn't take long for this cat to be out of the bag.

March, 2026: A Real Wedding Or Just The Drama?

In March of 2026, an insider said Tom Holland and Zendaya had gotten married. She was seen out in public for weeks with a ring on her finger, but the story was muddied a bit due to Zendaya wearing a slew of wedding-themed clothing for her movie The Drama with Robert Pattinson. Was it method dressing at its finest or a hint she was already married? You can definitely say she brought the drama to the press tour.

Her famous stylist eventually confirmed we weren't going to get to see Zendaya's dress because they were already married. That put the rumor mill to rest, mostly, but thankfully Holland also admitted AI photos running around didn't phase (most of) his family because they'd all been at his real wedding. He also joked about his wedding on The Odyssey press tour, taking some pressure off the question.

August, 2026: The Summer Of Tom Holland And Zendaya Continues With A Second Wedidng

We'd been talking about it being a big summer for Tom Holland and Zendaya well before all of the marriage rumors came down the pipeline. With all of the press tour work the two did for The Odyssey and then Spider-Man: Brand New Day the couple had been together a lot over the summer months. There were interviews. There were photocalls. There were red carpets. There was a lot of press work, but after it was all over, the couple also opted for a second wedding.

This one people found out about the weekend it happened at the Beaverbrook Hotel near their home in London. I'm not sure if the leak was intentional or an accident, but fans were happy to hear some of the details this time. It certainly put the wedding rumors to rest for good.

Tom Holland and Zendaya both turn 30 this year, and still have a lot of life ahead of them. For now, we're sending our congrats to the happy couple and a hope for many felicitous returns.

Tom Holland's Peter Parker probably wasn't trying to become the world's biggest box office while trying to stop Sadie Sink's Jean Gray from mentally taking over New York City, but that's exactly what's been happening since Destin Daniel Cretton's Spider-Man; Brand New Day nearly hit $1 billion in its first week in theaters. It remained in the top spot the next week, as well as each week after that. And it looks like James Cameron's Titanic is the next box office king the webslinger will soon bypass.

First released in 1997 (and then later for limited theatrical rereleases), Titanic has been the lone pre-2000 holdout in the Top 10 highest global box office earners, with Star Wars: The Phantom Menace as the only other '90s movie in the Top 25. But the historical romantic drama will almost definitely get overtaken soon by Brand New Day, the second-fastest movie to reach $2 billion. Meaning the disaster flick will at last get ousted from its lofty spot in the Top 5. Here are the most current tracking totals:

Top 10 Worldwide Lifetime Grosses

1. Avatar - $2.923,710,708
2. Avengers: Endgame - $2,799,439,100
3. Avatar: The Way of Water - $2,334,484,620
4. Ne Zha 2 - $2,270,700,370
5. Titanic - $2,264,812,968
6. Spider-Man: Brand New Day - $2,223,400,177
7. Star Wars: The Force Awakens - $2,071,310,218
8. Avengers: Infinity War - $2,052,415,039
9. Spider-Man: No Way Home - $1,921,426,073
10. Zootopia 2 - $1,866,647,950

As it's made clear, Brand New Day is the only 2026 movie release in the Top 10, though Christopher Nolan's billion-dollar baby The Odyssey is in the #19 slot. And unless a completely unpredictable and unexplainable dearth of Spidey ticket sales is suddenly reported all around the planet, the newest MCU movie could potentially slide up into the #5 spot sooner than you might think.

Check out this math: if we note Spider-Man: Brand New Day's earliest global release date as July 29, and divide its current grosses by the 28 days that have passed since, the movie is averaging a completely bonkers total of over $12.8 million per day.

As such, since it's less than $42 million behind Titanic, Brand New Day could take over that fifth position by the time the weekend gets here. To take it a step further, the movie would only need to earn $7-8 million more to usurp the #3 ranking from the Chinese blockbuster Ne Zha 2. It's still $700 million behind Avatar, though. I'm not saying that's an impossible feat or anything, but it may take another two or three weeks to get there.

The massive box office success isn't just a huge win for Marvel Studios and Disney. Tom Holland himself worked out a stellar deal for his fourth standalone Spidey movie, earning $20 million up front, with a backend agreement that likely puts his total earnings at north of $100 million, without a capped ceiling for said bonus.

Of course, I don't think anyone will be surprised if Titanic later falls down to #7 on the all-time Top 10 list after the upcoming Marvel movie Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters in December. If any superhero movie can somehow steal the 2026 box office crown from Peter Parker, it'd be one fronted by Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom.

It's a good time to be a Marvel fan, thanks to exciting titles hitting theaters and streaming with a Disney+ subscription. Fans who spent years watching the Marvel movies in order are still reeling from Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which was an insane box office hit. Unfortunately Destin Daniel Cretton's blockbuster did leave some material on the cutting room floor, including Rosario Dawson's deleted scene as Claire Temple. And it turns out that the movie featured another connection to Daredevil that we never saw.

Folks who watched the Netflix Marvel shows are thrilled that characters have returned to the shared universe, such as Daredevil and Punisher. But we've also got some FOMO, thanks to Dawson's Claire Temple nearly having a role in Brand New Day. Over on Twitter, a crew member who designed props for the movie revealed a slick connection to Daredevil that didn't get featured in the theatrical cut. Check it out below:

I LOVE this attention to detail. While Charlie Cox's MCU character doesn't appear in Brand New Day, he was clearly still there in spirit. Because inside Peter Parker's wallet included a business card for Matt Murdock's practice, which is an A+ reference to Cox's cameo in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Even if the business card wasn't actually shown in the new movie, these small details help to make the shared universe feel like a real, interconnected place.

Obviously Doctor Strange's spell during No Way Home's ending resulted in Matt Murdock (and the entire world) forgetting who Peter Parker was. But it's fun that Tom Holland's hero kept the card just in case he needed some legal help from his former lawyer.

I'm still holding out hope that Rosario Dawson's Claire Temple gets to return to the MCU sometime soon. She was the connective tissue between almost all the Marvel Netflix shows, with Claire assisting heroes in Daredevil, Iron Fist, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and The Defenders. And since the actress continues to work with Disney as the live-action Ahsoka in the Star Wars universe, it would make sense for her to pop up in the MCU eventually. Fingers crossed that we don't have to wait much longer... or that we eventually see the deleted Brand New Day scene with her.

Fans are also hoping to see Daredevil and Spider-Man suited up and fighting bad guys in the shared universe. While Matt and Peter interacted, the same can't be said for their superhero alter egos. And since they're both New York City-based heroes, it would make sense if their paths eventually crossed.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is still in theaters now, and Avengers: Doomsday will follow suit on December 18th as part of the 2026 movie release list. We'll just have to see if/when Claire Temple re-enters the MCU.

Tom Holland and Zendaya are in the public eye a lot, and oftentimes they are at carpets and events together. This year, they had a whopping two press tours to complete together, with both starring in the two biggest movies of the year so far: Spider-Man: Brand New Day and The Odyssey. Because of this, we sometimes do get tidbits of information about Tom and Zendaya's relationship, but it’s not because they are often openly talking about one another.

A short time before the cat was officially out of the bag regarding Zendaya’s nuptials to the Spider-man star, she was asked to comment on whether or not she was married. She was wearing a gold band on her ring finger, so Elle’s question didn’t feel too pushy. Still, her answer was a polished “no” coupled with a second comment that helps us to understand why she doesn’t talk about Tom so often, at least not publicly.

"They're" in this context is likely the Internet as a collective. In fact, Zendaya’s spoken in the past about people online having a “parasocial” investment in her and Tom Holland as a couple. They grew up together on the big screen, and found love on Spider-Man, which makes their attraction an obvious source of public fascination. She’s said she is not trying to “hide from the world,” but she wants things close that can still be private for herself and her partner.

Holland, too, has confirmed he tries hard to keep things “private” when it comes to Zendaya. However, he’s also a frequent spoiler in Hollywood, and sometimes slips up. This happened recently when he revealed what he really calls Zendaya on the red carpet. Catching her attention, he called out the name “Maree,” which is one of Zendaya Coleman’s middle names: Zendaya Maree Stoermer Coleman (and maybe now Holland at the end). It was a sweet, organic moment, and an exchange we wouldn't typically get to see.

They do let loose home information periodically. In the same interview as above, Zendaya talked about the puppy she and her partner adopted recently. For his part, Tom Holland's talked about finding it hard to plan holidays given their busy schedules. Yet as the Peter Parker actor has also mentioned, they both hold the relationship sacred and don't share too many details.

Of course, secrets don’t usually stay secrets forever. After a friend copped to an under-the-radar wedding back in March (and Law Roach seemingly confirmed this), Tom Holland casually mentioned his family wasn’t fooled by AI photos of his wedding since “they were all there” in June. Then, Tom Holland started wearing his wedding band out early this month. Following that, there was reportedly a second set of nuptials at the Beaverbrook Hotel. So, the spring and summer has really been all about the couple.

She just doesn’t want to talk about it much, and that’s OK.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day gave audiences eager for upcoming Marvel movies a lot to chew on, but don't expect its director to tell you what it all means. Destin Daniel Cretton is being cryptic about the secrets of the latest movie, including the significance of Hulk's son getting a sneaky cameo.

If readers totally forgot that Hulk had a son named Skarr, it's totally understandable. Those who skipped out on streaming She-Hulk via Disney+ subscription may not even be aware the character exists, as he hasn't appeared in any MCU project since. That is, until this latest movie, in which he's seen briefly in a picture on Bruce Banner's desk. Cretton was asked about it by The Wrap, and balked at saying anything beyond this:

That's such a cryptic statement that it's nearly impossible to draw any conclusions from it. Is it a nod that Skaar is going to become a part of the story, or is it more that there had to be some acknowledgement of the character with Hulk appearing? It's just a picture, but obviously, everything is done for a reason. (And if the reason was to put the pic in front of enough moviegoers to earn over $2 billion, then it was a job well done.)

Maybe it's just a reminder from Marvel Studios that they haven't forgotten Skaar, and he'll factor into a future adventure involving Hulk and others. With Avengers: Doomsday on the way, I'm sure we'll see a lot of characters in the mix, so I wouldn't be shocked if he's involved in some way, even for a fleeting moment.

Destin Daniel Cretton also wouldn't say much about the post-credits scene in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which hinted that Peter was somewhere in space. Speculation right now suggests that's something that will be addressed in Avengers: Doomsday or Secret Wars, so it wouldn't be wild to guess the Skaar picture is a hint toward that as well.

Ultimately, if it was just a nod to She-Hulk and an acknowledgement of the short-lived Disney+ series, Cretton could have just said that. His being cagey leads me to the conclusion that it is relevant to something on the horizon for Marvel, but what that means I don't know.

I will say I would love it if there was finally advancement on a potential Hulk solo movie happening. Of course, Universal still famously owns the rights to the character, and unless something has changed as of late, he can only appear as a secondary character in Marvel movies. The franchise has done a solid job of giving him a great character arc throughout various movie appearances, but it's still not the same as seeing a big feature.

Now that we have Hulk, She-Hulk, Skaar, and Red Hulk, it feels like the stage is set for a big feature. Why else is Marvel Studios loading up the MCU with Hulks? Someone has to know the answer, but all we know at this time is that we likely aren't getting the answers from Spider-Man: Brand New Day's director.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day continues its run in theaters, and we're left to wonder what it all means for the future. And here I thought all the big questions left to answer were concerning the arrival of the X-Men!

There’s no arguing that the summer belongs to Tom Holland, who stars in both Spider-Man: Brand New Day as the titular superhero and The Odyssey as Odysseus’ son. However, if the 2026 movie schedule has proven anything, it’s that you can’t keep a good horror flick down. Insidious: Out of the Further broke up Holland’s one-two punch at the Box Office in its debut weekend, earning $25.3 million to push Christopher Nolan’s epic adaptation to No. 3.

Meanwhile, Spider-Man: Brand New Day continues its climb, so just how close is it to becoming the highest-grossing movie ever? I’ll answer that question and break down all the biggest Box Office moves below.

Just like last week saw a huge shakeup in the rankings, only four of this weekend’s Top 10 are the same as seven days ago, so take a look at the chart below to get caught up. (* denotes a new release)

Weekend Box Office: August 21-23, 2026

Will Spider-Man: Brand New Day Become The Highest Grossing Movie Ever?

After only four weekends in theaters, Spider-Man: Brand New Day has not only earned enough domestically and globally to become 2026’s highest-grossing movie to date, but we’re already looking at how it compares to the biggest movies of all time. It’s closer than you might imagine.

The newest Marvel movie has earned $854.9 million domestically so far, putting it in third place all-time behind only 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($936 million) and 2019’s Avengers: Endgame ($858 million).

The global numbers tell a similar story. When you add in Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s $1.365 billion earned overseas, you get a worldwide total of $2.22 billion. That’s the fourth-highest total ever (per Box Office Mojo) behind 2009’s Avatar ($2.92 billion), Avengers: Endgame ($2.79 billion) and 2022’s Avatar: The Way of Water ($2.33 billion). History is definitely within swinging distance for Spidey here.

Where Does Insidious 6’s Opening Fall In The Franchise?

It was only a matter of time before something bumped one of the summer’s billion-dollar babies from the Top 2, and of course it would be a horror flick, given it’s been such a hot season for scares. However, I might not have predicted Insidious: Out of the Further — the sixth movie in the franchise — would be the one to overtake Christopher Nolan in the No. 2 spot.

The supernatural horror opened to $25.3 million in North America and added $35 million overseas for a combined $60.3 million. With an $18 million budget, that’s good news for Sony Pictures, but how does it compare to the first three days of the Insidious franchise’s other films?

• Insidious Chapter 2 (2013): $40.3 million
• Insidious: The Red Door (2023): $33 million
• Insidious: The Last Key (2018): $29.6 million
• Insidious: Out of the Further (2026): $25.3 million
• Insidious Chapter 3 (2015): $22.7 million
• Insidious (2011): $13.3 million

Despite falling on the lower end of the series’ premieres, most of the Insidious movies have gone on to earn well over $100 million worldwide, with The Red Door leading the way with $186.2 million by the end of its run. Word-of-mouth advertising could play a role in how long Out of the Further’s legs are here (more on that a little later).

Jason Statham’s Mutiny Falls Below Projections

Another of the weekend’s new releases didn’t fare quite as well as the horror offering. Mutiny starring Jason Statham earned $7.5 million, falling just below projections in the range of $8 million to $12 million. Plenty of critics thought it was a fun summer action flick — not CinemaBlend’s own Hugh Scott, however, who felt like he was being stabbed.

Mutiny earned slightly more than Jason Statham’s other 2026 offering, Shelter, which opened to $5.5 million in January, but behind the action star’s hits from the past couple of years — A Working Man ($15.5 million) and The Beekeeper ($16.6 million) — all of which were working with budgets in the $40 million range. Can Statham rebound in Week 2?

How Critics Rated This Week’s New Releases

Whether any of this weekend’s new movies — including the female-driven comedy Spa Weekend — can stick around in what’s been a volatile Top 10 to end the summer depends largely on word-of-mouth. So what are Rotten Tomatoes and CinemaScore rating them?

Well, audiences were much kinder to these titles than the reviews (be sure to hug the movie critics in your life; it looks like they could use one), so there’s a tiny glimmer of hope that we’ll see these movies again next weekend.

The Box Office’s Dino Twins Remain Identical In Week 2

Speaking to the volatility of the Box Office Top 10, only two of last week’s six new entries made it to the list for a second week, and while The End of Oak Street and Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie have absolutely nothing in common other than their dinosaurs, I will continue to relate the two if they continue to earn the same amount in ticket sales.

We’ll have to wait for the official tally to come Monday, but estimates have Paramount’s animated offering edging out the Anne Hathaway thriller by a mere $100K for now. Unfortunately, that means both movies saw drops of over 55% weekend over weekend. Sounds like they’re in need of a ruff-ruff rescue!

What Will Next Week’s Top 10 Look Like?

In the famous words of Benjamin Franklin, “In this world, nothing is certain except Spider-Man: Brand New Day and The Odyssey,” and I’m inclined to believe him. I’m interested to see if Insidious: Out of the Further can hold on, but I really think It Ends could be the next big horror movie when it goes wide.

We’ve also got Buddy, Coyote vs. Acme, The Dog Stars, Finding Emily and Idiots, so be sure to buy your ticket to something and then come back next Sunday to see if it made the list!

Brand New Day may go down in history as one of the best Spider-Man movies, but once it was simply a work in progress. During the movie’s press tour, Tom Holland spoke about there being some less-than-desirable test screenings during post-production. But it led the movie’s director to need to set something straight about his comments. Let’s get into it.

What Tom Holland Said About Brand New Day Test Screenings

Tom Holland was more involved than ever with Brand New Day (and he reportedly received a huge pay bump, too). And that means he was present during some test screenings – which is when the studio invites people to watch an unfinished cut and provide feedback. First, here’s what Holland told Quotable:

It sounds like the production played around a lot with how to cut the movie after filming wrapped in late 2025. And in one instance, the editorial team apparently decided to completely cater to reactions from the screenings that had happened. Holland said this exercise “totally didn’t work” and reminded the filmmakers that there has to be a line between following feedback and going with their own gut.

How The Director Set The Rumors Straight

Tom Holland’s comments in context really don’t speak ill of Brand New Day. But I’d guess a lot of people read that those early screenings were bad and ran with it. Here’s how director Destin Daniel Cretton addressed his star’s comments:

While some films are made with a specific vision for every shot from start to finish by the filmmakers, Marvel Studios’ movies famously change a lot throughout production. Oftentimes that’s why additional photography happens, too. In the case of Brand New Day, Cretton clarified that the test screenings he was talking about still scored quite high among audiences.

Perhaps from Holland’s perspective, the movie that catered to audiences just was not at all on the same level as other versions. While it may sound like Holland is talking about a whole different take on the movie, his director seems to be saying that it was essentially the same movie, just with edits in different places here and there. As Cretton also added to The Wrap:

Ultimately, Brand New Day's reviews were off-the-charts good once it came out, and the movie has become the highest-grossing release among 2026 movies so far. But Avengers: Doomsday could top it, given early sales projections.

Anyway, Brand New Day is still in theaters if you want to experience the latest Spidey film on the big screen.

Tom Holland has been playing Spider-Man for a decade now, and considering how much money his version of Peter Parker has made for Sony and Marvel, I figured his latest contract would come with one heck of a raise. Still, I was not prepared for this. Spider-Man: Brand New Day has already become a $2 billion monster at the worldwide box office and, apparently, Holland's paycheck is impressively growing right alongside it.

30-year-old Holland received at least $20 million upfront to return for his fourth solo Spider-Man movie, according to TheWrap. That alone doubled the reported $10 million salary he earned for No Way Home. The really wild part is Holland’s backend deal, which sources told the outlet could push his total compensation past $100 million. Even better for him, the bonus is reportedly uncapped.

Per reports, the former West End star turned A-lister earned just $250,000 when he first swung into the MCU for Captain America: Civil War in 2016. His salary increased to $500,000 for Spider-Man: Homecoming, then $4 million for Far From Home and $10 million for No Way Home. His original six-picture agreement expired after that third solo outing, which meant returning for Brand New Day required an entirely new deal.

The Uncharted actor’s giant bonus is tied to Brand New Day’s ridiculous theatrical performance. The movie passed $2 billion worldwide during its third weekend, becoming only the eighth movie ever to cross that mark and the second-fastest to do it behind Avengers: Endgame. Kudos to Holland for not just helping to make an incredible Spidey movie but for also securing the bag in the process.

Since Holland’s backend reportedly has no ceiling, the $100 million figure could keep climbing as Peter Parker continues to sell more and more tickets. This deal is crossing into Robert Downey Jr. territory. It's fair to say the Marvel comparison is Downey, who basically wrote the blueprint for turning a new superhero flick's success into enormous backend paydays.

Downey famously started with $500,000 for 2008’s Iron Man before negotiating increasingly lucrative deals as Tony Stark became the face of the MCU. Reportedly, RDJ's compensation for Iron Man 3 reached roughly $50 million after backend participation, while his later Avengers deals pushed his earnings above $100 million across Infinity War and Endgame. It was previously reported that Downey earned at least $75 million for Infinity War alone, largely thanks to his back-end arrangement.

That is pretty rare company for a young and in-demand actor like Holland to be entering, especially when we are talking about compensation for a single Spider-Man movie. The timing also could not be better for him. Brand New Day is now Sony’s highest-grossing movie ever, while Holland also starred in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, which has crossed $1.3 billion globally. The British star is having the kind of year that gives an actor considerably more leverage the next time a studio calls.

As for Marvel and Sony, they certainly seem interested in calling again. According to the outlet's reporting, Holland, Kevin Feige and Sony chairman Tom Rothman have all expressed interest in continuing his Spider-Man's story, though it remains unclear whether his current contract already covers another movie. If another negotiation is required after Brand New Day finishes its run, I suspect those conversations will be very expensive.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is currently playing in theaters as part of the 2026 movie calendar. Be sure to check your local listings for showtimes.

Coming from the highly secretive and fan-obsessed world of Severance, Tramell Tillman certainly knows how to play the spoiler-free game in interviews, but he’s not always so used to being in the dark on the other side of those conversations. As such, his early experiences when joining the cast of Spider-Man: Brand New Day sound like he was trying to get into some kind of highly classified government outpost, like Area 51. (Or wait, was that just Venom?)

With Brand New Day already having earned more than $2 billion at the box office, Tillman can now speak more freely about his previously under-wraps role of Department of Damage Control’s unsettlingly calm boss Bill Metzger, Speaking with GQ about landing the role, among other details, Tillman said he was initially excited to be told that Marvel execs wanted to meet with him, but that excitement was temporarily tamped down by a lack of pertinent information. In his words:

That sounds like the most interesting version of a near-stalemate, with Tramell Tillman not so eager to accept an offer for a role he knows nothing about, and director Destin Daniel Cretton & Co. not so eager to divulge any information about a role that Tillman wasn't automatically ready to sign off on. Is it still called ouroboros if you're talking about a spider eating its own legs?

Tillman revealed how he and the director finally reached an agreement when the bare minimum of insight was shared with him. In his words:

I can certainly understand Tillman's hesitance to just dive into a blockbuster role like this without having a clear idea of who he'll be playing. To be sure, I doubt Kevin Feige and Cretton ever had him in mind to play Tombstone or Scorpion or any of the more action-based villains. Not because I don't think he could do it or anything, but because he's so good at oozing menace while doing nothing beyond just standing in an office in dapper clothing. His gravitas was worth the creative team's effort of stringing him along with minor details.

Specifically, this is the character foundation that Tillman started to develop his performance around when agreeing to take the role. As he put it:

Will Bill Metzger show up in any upcoming Marvel movies to spread the Department of Damage Control’s influence out across the rest of the MCU? The only thing that’ll apparently answer that question with efficiency is time, and possibly a lot of it, since he’s not automatically expected to be popping up in Avengers: Doomsday.

Tillman himself, however, is co-starring in one of my more anticipated upcoming 2026 movies of the fall, Bassam Tariq’s crime thriller Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother opposite Mahershala Ali and Giancarlo Esposito. In the meantime, Brand New Day will no doubt continue to crush it at the box office, and I'll be one of many waiting more Severance Season 3 production updates.

Spoilers below for the handful of people who maybe haven’t seen Spider-Man: Brand New Day yet, so be warned!

There’s no question Spider-Man: Brand New Day is one of the most successful movies of all time, with over a billion box-office dollars earned thus far, and many millions more to come. There’s also no question we’re going to see Peter Parker’s Spider-Man again in an Avengers sequel, thanks to that confusing post-credits scene. But the movie did leave me with several questions that I really hope get answers or clarification without before either Secret Wars or Tom Holland’s fifth Spider-Man solo movie hits theaters in 2027 and beyond. My Spidey-Patience is not so powerful.

And I’m not specifically talking about the biggest-picture questions here, like what Peter and Ned’s handshake really meant, and whether or not Doctor Strange’s spell was broken by the power of friendship. They are related, though. Since first watching Brand New Day, my brain has been preoccupied with speculation about the limits of such magical spells, and how it all works within the characters’ own brains.

Where Does MJ Think Her Necklace Came From?

Taken completely at face value, MJ still wearing her black dahlia necklace throughout the entirety of Spider-Man: Brand New Day is an oh-so-sweet sign that her love for Peter is pure enough that not even sorcery can eliminate all signs of it. In that way, it's also possibly the biggest clue early on that Doctor Strange's spell left room for certain loophole-esque situations where Peter's friends still have totems from the years they spent together. But I'm baffled by what their brains are doing to fill in the memory gaps.

Peter gives MJ the necklace in Far From Home, inspired by learning the black dahlia is her favorite flower. The pendant doesn't make it out fully intact, but MJ chooses to continue wearing it for all the adorable thematic reasons, and it's as much a symbol of their bond as Peter and Ned's signature hand-smacks is of theirs. So from a creative perspective, of course she's still wearing it in BND.

But from a more logistical real-world angle, I think it's lowkey terrifying to consider MJ compulsively wearing this necklace on a daily basis without any front-of-mind reasoning for it. Like, if I made a point of wearing the same watch for years on end, only to realize one day that I had zero clue where it came from or when I got it, I miiiight be too freaked out to put it back on. Sure, I can't tell you exactly when and where I bought every T-shirt or pair of pants that I own, but I still have the general blueprint of events up there. But if my favorite accessory only inspired blank spots, I might need a therapist.

When MJ sees her necklace in a mirror, or moves it with her hands, does her brain attempt to flash back to where it came from, only to short-circuit before real memories can appear? Or does Doctor Strange's spell intentionally dull the part of her brain that attempt to make such connections? I really hope there's a slide-show presentation explaining it before any other MCU movies come out.

Is Jean Grey's Telepathy Powerful Enough To Reverse Magic?

One of the ongoing fan theories about Spider-Man: Brand New Day is that Sadie Sink's Jean Grey knocks a few mental dominos loose in MJ and Ned when her telepathic powers bubble out and force zillions of New Yorkers to stay locked in place. I don't really buy into that idea, though, since everyone is affected by the "forget about Peter" spell, and it'd be amazingly convenient for two of his friends to be the only ones to have such adverse affects to Jean's actions. A little too amazingly convenient.

That said, I do think it's entirely possible that the vengeful mutant has (or will have) the ability to perform more distinctive tasks within people's brains. Such as making someone think they're a different person, that they can only eat brown foods, or any other kind of behavioral change that a state hypnotist might also use in an act. But is telepathy (hers or anyone's) powerful enough to reverse a spell crafted by such a magically dominant entity as Doctor Strange?

I almost have to think so at this point, because part of me doesn't want to just buy into the feel-good notion that MJ and Ned's love for Peter alone is enough to shatter such an ironclad enchantment. That's a little too pat and smooth for my tastes.

I guess now I can start pondering whether Doctor Strange's spell will continue to work if he gets killed off in Avengers: Doomsday or Secret Wars. Might as well brew some coffee now, because this could take a while.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day continued its dominance of the August Box Office this weekend, surpassing another global milestone as it pulled in another $70 million over the past three days in North America alone. Between the new MCU movie and The Odyssey also showing impressive numbers 31 days into its release, there was a lot of room for movement below them in the Top 10. I’m actually surprised at how many new releases made it.

The landscape that Spidey swooped past on the Box Office Top 10 looks pretty different from last weekend’s numbers (aside from the above-mentioned billion-dollar earners). A whopping six new releases are taking up real estate on the list. What are they, and do they have a chance to stay for a while?

Take a look at the list below, and then we’ll break down the rest. (* denotes a new release.)

Weekend Box Office: August 14-16, 2026

Spider-Man: Brand New Day Crosses $2 Billion In Worldwide Earnings

It was only a matter of time before Tom Holland’s third Spider-Man movie crossed this line, but it happened at close-to-record pace. After 17 days in theaters, Spider-Man: Brand New Day has earned a global total of $2.02 billion ($785.8 million domestic, $1.24 billion overseas). That makes it the second-quickest movie to reach that mark after Avengers: Endgame, which did it in 11 days in 2019.

Between that and The Odyssey, Tom Holland is in the conversation of Hollywood’s top box office earners with the likes of Scarlett Johansson and Zoe Saldaña. Christopher Nolan’s epic remained at No. 2 this weekend, earning another $23.2 million, per The Numbers, and now stands with $504.7 million domestic and $786.2 million international for a cume of $1.29 billion.

Two Very Different Dinosaur Flicks Lead The Bevy Of New Releases

The Odyssey didn’t win silver by much this week, though. Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor’s dino-filled thriller The End of Oak Street was right on its heels with a three-day domestic debut of $21 million. Given the competition, that’s not a terrible number, but even after adding the $26 million it earned abroad, the earnings do fall below projections, as the David Robert Mitchell project cost at least $80 million to make.

A second new release involving dinosaurs — Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie — wasn’t very far behind, either, with $20.5 million domestically and $48.5 million internationally for a combined worldwide total of $69 million. That means it’s already pretty much made back its reported production budget of $40 million, as well as marketing and promotional costs.

It’s domestic debut is also comparable to the previous two Paw Patrol movies, with 2021’s Paw Patrol: The Movie earning $13.1 million on opening weekend ($151.4 million worldwide by the end of its theatrical run) and 2023’s Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie garnering $22.8 million in its first three days ($201.7 million globally overall).

This may be the new family-friendly option kids are gravitating toward, as it pushed Toy Story 5 down four spots to No. 8, and Minions & Monsters dropped out of the Top 10 altogether.

Pinkies Up For The Rest Of The Top 10 Newbies

Fans of the global girl group Katseye showed up for the new documentary Katseye: Wild Hearts, which hit theaters alongside their third EP. Wild. This was where I spent my movie ticket money this weekend, as I accompanied my K-pop-loving daughter.

After watching teen and tween Eyekons mimic the band’s intricate choreography to songs like “Pinky Up,” “Animal” and even older hits like “Gnarly” for 80 minutes, I was ready to do some pretty gnarly dancing myself. I likely wasn’t alone, either, as the documentary earned a smidge under $4 million on just 724 screens — good for fifth place this week.

Following the success of Hadestown: The Musical last month, Six: The Musical Live! was, appropriately, No. 6 on the weekend’s Top 10, followed at No. 7 by The Brink of War, a political drama from Angel Studios starring Jeff Daniels as Ronald Reagan. The Indian romantic drama Vishwanath & Sons rounded out the new releases in 10th place, earning $1.6 million in just 350 theaters.

How Critics Scored This Weekend’s New Movies

I was surprised at how well The End of Oak Street went over with critics, all of whom compared the sci-fi survival flick to Jurassic Park (mostly favorably). But, for it to have long legs in theaters, it’s going to need to make up some ground with word-of-mouth advertising. So how did Rotten Tomatoes and CinemaScore audiences’ reactions compare to what the critics said for the Anne Hathaway film and this weekend’s other new releases?

Scores were not given for Katseye: Wild Hearts, Six: The Musical Live! and Vishwanath & Sons.

Last Week’s Releases Drop, And Next Week Could Bring More Chaos

With so many new movies making the Top 10 this week, that means we lost quite a few from last week — including Super Troopers 3, which debuted at No. 5. In its sophomore outing, it dropped 65% to earn $1.4 million. One Night Only remained in the Top 10 but also saw a severe 64% decline weekend over weekend.

We even lost our cat videos, as CatVideoFest 2026 was taken out of more than half the theaters that helped it into last weekend’s Top 10. Nothing lasts forever, I suppose. Speaking of which, I can’t find any Week 2 numbers for Eli Roth’s Ice Cream Man but, given how bad the reviews were and its meager $2 million debut, I can’t imagine there was much to report.

In more positive news, both Tony and Teenage Sex And Death at Camp Miasma crossed the million-dollar mark before their respective wide releases next weekend. With Dominic Sessa earning praise for his portrayal of Anthony Bourdain and Hannah Einbinder’s Camp Miasma also catching critics’ attention, I’m looking forward to seeing them on this list next week, along with some of the several other movies hitting the 2026 movie calendar on August 21.

If I'm honest, I didn’t have high expectations when I went to watch Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which is still tearing up the 2026 movie schedule. I have seen all the Marvel Cinematic Universe Spider-Man movies. I have enjoyed all of them, except one. One of my most controversial movie takes is that I didn’t think Spider-Man: No Way Home was good. Lots of fan service, but the product left a lot to be desired, leaving me questioning the future of Tom Holland's series.

That I've seen it, I would now probably rank Brand New Day high among the best Spider-Man movies. It really made me excited to see where Marvel goes with the franchise now, and I think I know why this movie worked so well.

Warning: Spider-Man: Brand New Day spoilers are ahead. Proceed with caution.

This Spider-Man Film Feels Equally Hopeful And Bleak

Spider-Man: Brand New Day feels a lot darker than many of the other Marvel and Spider-Man movies. It feels even darker than a lot of the MCU films, but it doesn’t feel gritty. It doesn’t become something the Holland Spider-Man movies never were, but evolves to something a little bleaker.

The storyline of the unseeable entity already has a dark tone to it because the idea of someone taking over your body has sinister connotations. We later learn that Jean Grey (Sadie Sink) is behind it all, and we have seen Jean do plenty of dark things throughout her history in films. We didn’t know how dangerous and murderous she could become. It almost seemed like she would become a foe that Peter (Tom Holland) couldn’t stop.

However, despite how dark things get, Peter manages to save the day. Then he’s greeted with a hero’s applause for all his hard work. It shows that no matter how bleak things get, keep fighting, and maybe you will win in the end.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day Feels More Mature Than Previous Movies, Which Works With The Growing Up Theme

Sometimes as we age and grow up, life feels harder and darker. We lose people we love, or our jobs become increasingly more stressful, and we battle outer and inner demons. It’s hard growing up. Spider-Man: Brand New Day is also a coming-of-age movie. Peter goes from a teen with a complicated life to an adult with an even more complicated life.

It shows him maturing but also growing lonelier and more driven, at the cost of existing outside his Spider-Man persona. I thought the film showcases the complexities of adulthood in a sad but fascinating and accurate way, especially for a superhero movie. It felt the closest to the cancelled-too-soon Wonder-Man than any of the other Marvel projects so far. It did this by grounding the superhero story in a more relatable way without compromising the concept of a superhero.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day Doesn’t Completely Leave You Feeling Satisfied

Peter essentially saves the day, but his life still has a lot of holes in it. MJ (Zendaya) possibly still doesn’t remember him, and Ned (Jacob Batalon) might remember him. He stopped Jean, but there will always be more bad guys, so he can’t fully be satisfied with everything, and Jean was a complicated villain. Her actions are justified at times.

You leave the movie slightly happy for him, because Ned may remember now, but you leave with so many more questions. I think this is a good reflection of life in general. You may win in the moment, but the fight never ends, and things are never perfectly resolved.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day deserves its box-office success because it succeeds where other superhero movies fail. It makes the human parts just as important as the superhero elements.

Spider-Man has and will always be my favorite superhero. I’ll never forget seeing the first Spidey movie when I was a kid, and I’ve been devotedly following each installment since. While the Sam Raimi trilogy may always be my No. 1 (faults and all), I think the Tom Holland movies have been fantastic. With Brand New Day here, I decided to binge the “Home” trilogy for the first time in one day, and I have some takeaways to talk through.

First off, I still think 2017’s Homecoming is one of the best MCU movies that’s been made. The script is so sharp, and it feels like you’re watching a John Hughes film that also happens to include superheroes. It really nails the awkwardness of being a high schooler in a way no other Spider-Man movie has done before. But, my big problem with rewatching the trilogy happens in its sequel, Far From Home.

The Thing That Doesn’t Hold Up In Tom Holland’s Spider-Man Trilogy

Now, I had totally forgotten until I turned it on, but 2019’s Far From Home was the first MCU movie to come out after Avengers: Endgame and the final installment of The Infinity Saga. It opens with a hilarious high school news video of Betty Brant and Jason Ionelle explaining The Blip – which is when everyone came back five years after The Snap wiped out half the universe.

I proceeded to spend half of Far From Home feeling very confused about what was going on with the students of Midtown High in the fallout of the major universe event. I found it weird that Peter, Ned, MJ along with most of the students from Homecoming just happened to all be part of the Snapped so the plot could move along without a hitch. And yet, there’s this weird thing going on with Remy Hii’s Brad Davis, who aged up five years from a middle-schooler to a high school junior.

I think Far From Home did a decent job of explaining it, and they had a clever way of lore dumping at the top of the movie, but it also had me considering all these existential questions around The Snap and The Blip that I sort of wish the Spider-Man sequel didn’t have. In the moment when we were watching all the MCU movies one-by-one it made sense, but if you decide to skip the movies in between like I did, I think it kind of stunts an otherwise great set of movies.

If you’re thinking “just watch Infinity War and Endgame” before Far From Home, you’re right. I probably should have, but that would have added over five hours to my binge.

The Other Thoughts I Had Watching Them

Now, to put aside my gripes, and share some quick reasons why I liked the “Home” trilogy on my recent rewatch.

• I didn’t totally realize how many suits Tom Holland gets as Spider-Man until now. Like, it’s actually wild how many.
• Happy Hogan is an underrated character in this trilogy. I'm delighted he was part of it.
• Uncle Ben isn’t mentioned once in this Peter Parker’s story. Does he even exist in this version?
• While it feels forced at times, I think it’s really fun to see Tom Holland’s Spider-Man interact with a couple of other MCU characters in each movie. My favorite instance of this is the “suit” moment with Tony Stark in Homecoming.
• It’s still weird to me that they go on a class trip to Italy.
• Peter and MJ are so, so adorable to watch fall in love.
• The “Night Monkey” bit in Far From Home is actually so hilarious to me.
• I hate the Skrull twist during the end credits of Far From Home.
• I wish there was a time jump between Far From Home and No Way Home because they look visibly older, but conceptually I get it. Fine.

And now, we have Brand New Day! I hope it’s the start of another Spider-Man trilogy. You can check out what CinemaBlend thought of the movie as it plays in theaters.

Not just anyone gets to wear Tom Holland’s Spider-Man suit. And yet… How to Train Your Dragon actor Mason Thames got to. How the heck? There’s actually an adorable story behind how it happened.

The 19-year-old actor has been all over the movies lately, playing Hiccup in the live-action How to Train Your Dragon movies and starring in The Black Phone films. He was also in the romance Regretting You and actually has two new comedies out this month. It turns out he also got to visit the set of Spider-Man: Brand New Day during production. Here’s what happened in Thames words:

That is pretty "dope." However, the whole experience got cooler when Holland asked Thames if he wanted to try on the Spider-Man costume, as the HTTYD actor recalled:

How did Mason Thames get to go on the set of Brand New Day? We don’t know for sure, but we do know that Spider-Man was filmed in Glasgow, Scotland and England’s Pinewood Studios in the second half of 2025. Thames' How to Train Your Dragon movies were also filmed in England. Perhaps there was overlap? Anyway, getting back to this impromptu costume fitting:

Mason Thames is a “big comic book nerd,” as he told CinemaBlend when we caught up with him at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con. His personal favorite comic book characters are DC’s Robin (specifically Dick Grayson) and Marvel’s Spider-Man. Check out what he said to us:

As you can imagine, getting to not only visit a Spider-Man movie set, but also put on the suit? He was geeking out. In the new interview, Patrick Dougall then asked Thames if we’re ever going to see pictures of him in the suit. Here’s what he said:

Honestly, how sweet of Tom Holland to allow Thames to wear the suit. He surely didn’t have to, and it definitely doesn’t seem like the actor was expecting it at all. Mason Thames could certainly pass off as a Peter Parker from another universe, too.

Talk about a flex. Mason Thames can say he’s actually worn the Spider-Man suit forever and always. While the actor hasn’t had the opportunity to play a superhero, he’s got plenty of time to earn a role of his own either in the MCU or DC Universe. My vote would definitely be to see the actor in his favorite superhero, Robin.

You can see Mason Thames in the Green Day comedy, Nimrods, this weekend. Then, his next film, Idiots, comes out later this month on August 28. Thames also has How to Train Your Dragon 2 on the 2027 movie schedule, and it will hit theaters on June 11. Hopefully, he’ll get a supersuit of his own one day, too!

SPOILERS are ahead for Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

I saw Spider-Man: Brand New Day a few days ago, and it’s been sticking with me like the webs that (now) come straight from the wrists of Tom Holland’s Peter Parker. It has all the things I’d want out of a Spider-Man movie, like cool team-ups and great surprises. But, there’s also a warmth to it I wasn’t necessarily expecting to feel four Spidey films in. Peter’s storyline has also led to some online chatter about how it connects to living with autism.

Now, Peter Parker is not canonically thought of as a character on the autism spectrum. But the fact that enough people are having similar reactions to Brand New Day certainly makes it worthy of discussion. Let’s get into it.

People Are Making Brand New Day Connections To Autism

Brand New Day has already soared to become the highest-grossing of 2026 movie releases with over $1 billion in box office returns in addition to being highly acclaimed. So, a lot of people have seen it and are talking about it. Check out this video about the connections one person made between Peter Parker and what it’s like to be in the autism community:

There’s quite a few things to break down here. Azia Celestino, whose own brother has autism, mentions three moments in Brand New Day that made her think Tom Holland’s Peter Parker is an autism icon. For one, Peter Parker’s sudden mutation of his powers gives him sensory overload, which is often thought of as a common symptom of autism. Peter finds himself dealing with this, but it’s within the context of his arachnid hormones going through some changes.

She also brings up the subject of “masking”, which is when someone with autism hides their natural traits to appear non-autistic. Again, Peter Parker is hiding his identity for a different reason, but it’s an interesting connection. Lastly, she brings up the scene between Aunt May and Jean Grey, where she says the following to the future X-Men character:

Aunt May may be talking about what it’s like to have special powers in the context of the movie, but how sweet is it that it could be read as a message to people with autism? I also saw this video regarding the same topic:

Autism is something that millions of people live with everyday, and there’s still a small amount of movies and TV shows that tackle how it really feels. I love knowing that the community is connecting to Spider-Man in the context of Brand New Day.

How The Autism Community Is Reacting

The comments to these videos really speak volumes, too. Check out what people are saying:

• “omg! I felt so deeply understood by this movie, especially during that overload scene I told my brother ‘this is essentially what feels like to be autistic!’ 😂🙌 like the whole movie was very coded and it also referred to the struggle of masking and unmasking in certain aspects. A VERY GREAT REPRESENTATION🔥🙌” - @angelic_depression
• “The sensory overload scenes in the new film are imo extremely accurate to how it feels for a ND person.” - @accccroowww
• “In the scene where Peter is talking to Aunt May and then Peter talking to Jean the message was something like”people who love you love you not because you’re special but because you’re you” That’s the reason why we mask because we don’t think we’re lovable unmasked. But I believe that people who love you will love you not despite your ND but because that’s what makes you you. For the first time ever I felt like I got a big comforting warm hug from a friend watching this movie like “you’re going to be okay”😢” - @shweta_nav1
• "It hit so hard when Jean was talking about how special people don’t get to have real connections or friends or family. They’re just alone. I cried because I see that with my son who loves people but they ignore him. Even some of his close family members. Just because he can’t verbalize a reciprocal conversation." - @sandisueperry
• "My son has autism and when I watched the movie all I could think was of him and was just crying for the rest of the movie ❤️." - @tutsieq

While Spider-Man may not have autism specifically in the movie, it’s clearly making an impact on the community and their support systems. The late Stan Lee talked in the past about why Spider-Man is “easy for fans to relate to” and I love that it continues perhaps in a new way with Brand New Day.

The emotional depth of the new Spider-Man flick is just one of many reasons why I really enjoyed Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and I can’t wait to see what themes fans see in the upcoming Marvel movies to come.

Spoilers ahead for Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

Folks who spent years watching the Marvel movies in order now find that some franchises are fan favorites. Chief among them are the Spider-Man movies, and fans were recently treated to the record-breaking release of Brand New Day. Folks have really responded to Sadie Sink's debut as Jean Grey, although there's an online debate about whether or not she's a murderer in the film. And after one of the writers weighed in, the discourse has gotten even hotter. Let's break it all down.

Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox finally opened the door for the X-Men to join the MCU, and they've been slowly peppered in through various projects on the big screen or streaming with a Disney+ subscription. And while it was thrilling that we've got a new Jean Grey, her actions in the first half of the movie have some fans upset that she was seemingly a killer. Let's break it all down.

What Brand New Day's Writer Said About Jean

Throughout most of Brand New Day, Jean is shown possessing people's bodies with her telepathic abilities. She goes to extreme lengths while on the search for her sister Sara, including making MJ jump off a building. But the most debated moment is when she made a man back into traffic, resulting in him getting hit hard by a taxi. It looked like he wouldn't survive that collision, but it wasn't confirmed or denied whether he actually died.

During an interview with THR, writer Erik Sommers addressed Jean's villainous actions throughout the new Spider-Man movie. Regarding whether or not she actually killed anyone, he responded with:

There you have. it. While the actual contents of Brand New Day left this question ambiguous, the writer maintains that Sadie Sink's character didn't actually kill anyone throughout the movie's 145-minute runtime. Of course, this hasn't stopped fans from debating the issue online. In fact, it might have added fuel to the fire of the Jean discourse.

Marvel Fans Have Been Debating Whether She's A Killer Or Not

While Sommers maintains that "technically" Jean isn't responsible for any deaths in Brand New Day, there are a ton of fans who disagree. The guy who got hit by a cab is the biggest reason why, but other folks think that she must have killed at least a few people when freezing half of the city in the movie's third act. You can see some popular tweets about the subject below:

• Jean Grey in Spider-Man Brand New Day 1000% killed that one dude hit by a car, and likely more.
• I feel like the issue is more on what the writers chose to do and the lack of consequences for it. They made a deliberate choice to have Jean grey kill people and then didn’t address it.
• Don't believe you lying eyes people. Sorry, we saw what Jean did. The dude was fucking pancaked by the taxi, ambiguous as to other deaths.
• jean grey is mass murderer
• ok so is literally every other hero in the mcu. what now?

Despite the movie coming out weeks ago, fans are still debating Brand New Day's contents. Some are sure that Jean killed people in the movie, while others maintain that even if she did it's not a deal-breaker for the future X-Men. After all, The Avengers don't have the strict no-kill rule of DC heroes like Batman and Superman. We've seen heroes like Iron Man and Wanda take human lives before, either on purpose or accidentally. So maybe Jean killing a few people isn't as big of a deal as some folks are making it out to be.

We'll just have to wait for whenever Jean returns in upcoming Marvel movies, and if her actions in New York are addressed. An X-Men movie is coming, with Brand New Day's ending hinting that she was heading upstate where Xavier's mansion is typically located.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is in theaters now as part of the 2026 movie release list. The next MCU blockbuster will be Avengers: Doomsday on December 18th. We'll just have to wait and see if Peter Parker ends up having a role.

Buying wrap gifts for an entire movie crew seems like a pretty thoughtful gesture. Unfortunately for Tom Holland, there is apparently a very important step between picking out the gift and handing it to several hundred people: Make sure you check the sizing. The Spider-Man: Brand New Day lead just explained why the entire crew trash-talked his gift right to his face.

While appearing on Late Night with Seth Meyers to promote Brand New Day, Holland revealed that after his 2026 movie release wrapped, he decided to buy personalized Spidey beanies for the movie’s crew. Meyers asked the natural follow-up: “Was it well received?” Well, not exactly. The actor explained:

Calling Casali “legendary” is not just Holland being nice, either. The production sound mixer won an Academy Award as part of the sound mixing team behind Bohemian Rhapsody in 2019. However, I'd assume none of that experience prepared him for a tiny Spider-Man hat trying to crush his skull.

The best part is that Casali apparently assumed the studio had bought the gifts. So he walked straight up to Holland and started complaining about how cheap Sony had been. The former West End performer continued:

In Casali’s defense, I probably would not have guessed the actor playing Spider-Man personally ordered a box of child-sized beanies either. Holland clearly found the whole thing hilarious rather than taking offense. You have to check out the full interview in the video below.

It also sounds exactly like the kind of mistake that becomes part of a new superhero movie crew’s mythology long after production wraps. Forget the giant action sequences and complicated stunt work. Somewhere there are Spider-Man crew members who will forever remember the day Peter Parker handed them hats built for 8-year-olds.

Brand New Day has worked out considerably better than The Odyssey actor’s gift order. The fourth solo Spider-Man movie has become a massive theatrical hit since arriving on July 31, with its worldwide haul already climbing well past $1 billion.

Honestly, Holland can probably afford to double-check the hat sizes next time. Spider-Man: Brand New Day has already crossed $1.6 billion worldwide, while The Odyssey has pushed past $1 billion as well. Those two monster releases have the 30-year-old closing in on the all-time box office leaderboard, where Zoe Saldaña and Scarlett Johansson currently sit at the top.

If Brand New Day keeps swinging, the Marvel movie veteran could soon move past names like Robert Downey Jr., Samuel L. Jackson and Chris Pratt, putting him within striking distance of Saldaña and Johansson. Tiny hats aside, it has been a pretty good summer to be Tom Holland.

All of the Spidey flicks, past and present, are streaming with a Disney+ subscription.

I’ve been watching Spider-Man movies my whole life, and one thing I’ve always loved about them is how they’ve never been without romance. What can I say, Peter Parker is a lover boy, and I eat it up every time. But, Brand New Day took things in a completely new direction with the MJ storyline this time around, and I’m still not over it.

Peter Parker And MJ’s Story In Brand New Day Is Rough

After what happened in No Way Home, I knew going into it that Peter Parker was going to be without his best bud Ned and girlfriend MJ, but it really went a few steps further than I thought it would. For one, in the movie we follow Peter as he goes years without anyone from his past. (Oof, the way I thought it was going to reverse somehow before their second semester).

When Peter finally collides with MJ and Ned again, they truly have no idea who he is. Sure, there’s a brief note between the two of them that there’s something they are missing, but they are completely clueless. When MJ reads the letter and finds out what’s been going on, my heart broke for Spidey when he told her he loved her, and there was not only no reciprocation behind those eyes, but she straight up rejected him. As sad as it is, I also need to praise it.

But, I Think It Deserves Its Flowers

Peter Parker’s decision not to tell Ned and MJ completely made sense to me. While I feel like the actions of some past Peter Parkers have felt not only flawed, but just unnecessary, Brand New Day feels different.

After the death of Aunt May in No Way Home, I really understood why he would isolate himself and lean into becoming the best Spider-Man he could be. Of course, he wanted to have them back, but “with great power comes great responsibility.” In the scene where MJ reads the letter and you feel her sadness about a piece of her life being kept from her, I see why she’s frustrated, but I’m actually happy the movie didn’t bring their romance back right away.

Peter has had messy relationships before, and sure, it would have brought a huge smile to my face to see these two together again. But, I’m living for the slow burn the franchise is going for instead. Instead, the hopeful gratification we got was between Peter and Ned, and it was perfect.

Peter and Ned have known each other much longer than Peter and MJ have, and have seemingly been doing that best friend handshake most of their lives. It was the perfect way to hint at a new chapter where Peter will reestablish his relationships, but without rushing the Peter and MJ romance.

We know that Spider-Man will return among upcoming Marvel movies, so why not give these two some time to fall in love again? I’m personally even hoping that Spider-Man meets one of his other famous love interests like Gwen Stacy or Black Cat before MJ is his endgame. Yearning is like the No. 1 rule of a good romance, and I’m so happy Brand New Day got it.

I can’t believe what’s been going on with Tom Holland and Zendaya this year. Not only did they share two 2026 movies (that have both passed $1 billion at the worldwide box office), they also reportedly managed to sneak in two secret weddings. After we heard back in March that the couple already got married, another one allegedly took place earlier this month. And we just learned more about it.

Holland and Zendaya wrapped two back-to-back press tours for The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day. And the word is they had a second wedding at the Beaverbrook Hotel right after. It’s a luxury destination not too far from their southwest London home. Per new details from Vanity Fair, here’s the alleged vibe of their reported wedding suite:

The Beaverbrook Hotel is named after Lord Beaverbrook, who was a Canadian-British billionaire, politician and media baron. He hosted distinguished guests such as Winston Churchill and Elizabeth Taylor. Now there’s an entire suite named after Elizabeth Taylor, which Holland and Zendaya reportedly stayed in for the wedding celebration. Here’s another location on the grounds:

The Spider-Man stars allegedly booked out the entire Beaverbrook estate for their August 4 wedding. The grounds also include exciting amenities like a private golf course club (perfect for Holland’s love of the sport), a private cinema and pickleball. There’s also a host of fancy treatments to book at the spa. Take a look:

The Hollywood couple don’t give off a fussy vibe, but these details about Beaverbrook’s accommodations absolutely suggest they went for an extravagant wedding vibe. While I’m a bit surprised about how fancy it all is, I’m completely happy for these two as they managed to make it feel lowkey and private. The pair of A-listers are hard workers who’ve been traveling all around the world lately to promote two massive films. They absolutely deserved to treat themselves to all the elegance and pampering the Beaverbrook could provide them with.

If you’re as curious as I am about how much it costs to stay at the Beaverbrook Hotel, I looked it up. I’m seeing prices ranging from $688 to $1714 a night. I’m not even going to think about how much it cost to potentially rent out the whole place for their wedding reception. But given their recent successes, I’m not worried if they can afford it.

Following the alleged wedding on August 4, Tom Holland has been spotted wearing a wedding band. This was after fans were wondering why he wasn’t wearing one after news of their first wedding got out. I expect the couple will continue to keep the details private (and Law Roach definitely isn’t telling the press). But, this detail definitely leads me to believe the reported second wedding really happened.

Between these details and their hit movies, congrats to Tom Holland and Zendaya for having the most iconic summer of 2026 all around!

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a huge place, with tons of content in theaters and streaming with a Disney+ subscription. Folks who spent years watching the Marvel movies in order were recently treated to Destin Daniel Cretton's Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which broke box office records. The movie had a thrilling ensemble of characters, but it turns out Rosario Dawson shot a scrapped scene, reprising her role as Claire Temple on the big screen for the first time. The actress recently broke her silence about being cut from the blockbuster, but she also had a hopeful message.

The trailer for Spider-Man: Brand New Day featured Jon Bernthal's Punisher, marking the first time he played Frank Castle in a movie. But folks who watched the Netflix Marvel shows would have loved to see Claire Temple appear in her cut scene. While appearing at GalaxyCon (via Twitter), the Ashoka star revealed how she found out her sene was dropped, offering:

Talk about a bummer. While Dawson has a wildly successful career in TV and film, she was hyped about sharing her Spider-Man role with her family... especially her grandson. Unfortunately Claire's sequence was cut from Brand New Day's theatrical cut. Fingers crossed that we'll be able to see the deleted scene sometime in the future.

Before Disney+ started releasing live-action Marvel shows, there was a whole universe of titles available for those with a Netflix subscription. Dawson's Claire Temple served as the Nick Fury of those shows, tying the titles together while appearing in Daredevil, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones and The Defenders. It would have been great to see her back in Brand New Day, but that didn't happen. At the same convention appearance she spoke more about this by saying:

While it's a bummer that she was cut rom Brand New Day, it sounds like the Ahsoka actress is still ready to reprise her role as Claire in upcoming Marvel movies or TV shows. She continues to have a good relationship with Disney, so it would make sense for her to appear eventually. Fingers crossed it happens sooner rather than later.

As someone who watched the Netflix Marvel shows religiously, it's been thrilling to see a number of characters return. Charlie Cox cameoed as Daredevil in Spider-Man: No Way Home, She-Hulk and Echo before starring in both seasons of Born Again. Jon Bernthal's Punisher appeared in the latter as well, before reprising his role in One Last Kill and Brand New Day. Hopefully Claire Temple is the next one to get this treatment.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is in theaters now as part of the 2026 movie release list. Folks can re-watch Rosario Dawson's tenure in the MCU over on Disney+ now.

If you went into Spider-Man: Brand New Day hoping for a lot of Ned, your viewing experience was probably a mixed bag. On the one hand, Ned is less plot-relevant to the new movie than arguably any of the others. So, he’s just around a lot less, at least in key moments. On the other hand, because he’s less plot-relevant, Brand New Day lets him get back to being the change-of-pace comedic relief we saw in the first movie, which is a big win for the character.

It’s also a big win for me. I’ve been screaming into all five boroughs since the second movie that Marvel would get more out of Ned if they showed him less. MCU superfans have looked at me like I’ve been some mean-spirited hater, but Brand New Day has me feeling vindicated. Ned is at his best as soon as you start missing him and he suddenly pops in with some dumb, lovable comment. He’s not at his best when he’s in half the scenes or pretending to be the Sorcerer Supreme.

The conventional wisdom ahead of any franchise sequel is to figure out a way to give the standout side characters more screen time. After all, if they were one of the best parts of the first movie, the audience must want more, right? Well, the harsh truth is some characters work way better in small doses. They’re meant to serve as a contrast to the A-plot, not get bolted onto the A-plot.

For Ned, I think it’s a problem of screentime and narrative focus more than anything else. The creative forces behind these movies are not going to give anyone in the universe except Peter Parker enough time to go through a proper emotional arc, with a minor exception for the villains (especially when launching new franchises). As great as the supporting characters are, they are all ultimately there to quite specifically impact Peter Parker’s emotional journey. They are there to help him evolve, not the other way around.

Jacob Batalon is a skilled enough actor. He’s succeeded whenever he’s been called on to do more in the Ned role, but the way he serves the franchise best isn’t by having powers or supporting fight scenes. It’s by being Spider-Man’s hapless and loyal friend. It’s by easing the tension with a well-timed joke or being part of a goofy sequence to let the audience exhale from more serious drama.

We’re going to get more Spider-Man movies after this. The positive word of mouth, the insane box office, and all the euphoric buzz around this movie are clear indicators that we’re just getting started. I have no idea what story the team is going to adapt next, but it should start with everyone involved asking where they want to take Peter Parker next. They should figure out the path they want to put him on, and then once they map that out, they can ask how Ned and MJ and others in the universe fit in, or if they even fit in at all.

Ned is one of the funniest MCU supporting characters we’ve ever gotten, right up there with Luis, Darcy Lewis and Korg. He makes me smile whenever he’s on the screen, but that doesn’t mean we should see him more often. It means we should save him for the moments that feel right. Brand New Day gets that, and I hope the next movie does too.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is currently the biggest movie in the world alongside Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, and doesn’t seem like it’ll be tanking at the box office anytime soon. So from at least one perspective, co-star Sadie Sink was responsible for keeping a lid on one of the most lucrative secrets in cinema history. And to her credit, she made it to release without letting it slip (to the public, anyway), but at what point will she have to start zipping her lips again as the MCU’s X-Men feature comes together?

For instance, is it possible Sink is already playing dumb about the current progress of the next project where she’ll be portraying Jean Grey? It’s hard to automatically know one way or the other without Tom Holland around to provide tells. For instance, when asked by Vanity Fair about the latest casting rumors for Scott “Cyclops” Summers, the character Jean is often closest to in the comics, Sink claimed to have no direct insights, saying:

If we take her words to heart, then it indicates the upcoming Marvel movie being directed by Jake Schreier could potentially be casting for its biggest roles without chemistry sessions between stars. Hardly the biggest Hollywood sin at this point in the game, but still an interesting situation if that is indeed the case.

Sink elaborated a bit after being asked if the set-up for the X-Men feature has been a separate process from everything she dealt with regarding her Spider-Man involvement. To which she answered:

Sounds like a normal enough answer, except she almost too-quickly veers away from speaking about herself and where she fits into it all. She points out that she's getting insights from the director himself, and then pivots to pre-planned quotes and talking points about the "timing of it" and having Jean be introduced through Brand New Day. Sounds like somebody needed to fill some space.

Of course, it may just be that she didn't know, and wanted to have some kind of an answer so that she wasn't just sitting there quietly. But I'm still a little bit suspicious. It's too bad I don;t have any telepathic powers myself, although I dare say I'd be using them for things other than figuring out whether Sadie Sink is fibbing about X-Men stuff.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is currently in theaters, where Jean Grey's reveal has been a legitimate surprise for some crowds.