Spider-Man: Brand New Day sets Spanish box office record with €3.2m opening day

Box office dominance in Spain

On its opening day, 29 July, "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" took in €3.2 million across 421 Spanish cinemas, according to data from Rentrak. The figure is the highest single-day debut ever recorded in Spain. In just 24 hours, the film nearly matched the entire first weekend gross of the year's other top performers: Christopher Nolan's "La odisea" (€4.4 million) and "Super Mario Bros" (€4.9 million). It also reached roughly half of the €6.9 million that "Torrente presidente" earned over its first three days. Sony Pictures is projecting a Wednesday-to-Sunday total above €10 million in the Spanish market.

The film's predecessor, "Spider-Man: No Way Home", opened to €7 million in Spain in 2021 and went on to a $260 million domestic debut in North America, the second-highest of all time. For "Brand New Day", trade publication Variety forecasts a US opening weekend between $260 million and $280 million from more than 4,300 theatres. Only nine films in history have crossed the $200 million mark in their domestic opening weekend, a list topped by "Avengers: Endgame" with $357 million. The Spanish opening day record is the latest milestone for a franchise that has now seen Tom Holland play the role in four solo films, surpassing Tobey Maguire's three and Andrew Garfield's two.

Critical reception: a more mature Spider-Man

Spanish critics have largely awarded the film three stars out of five. Reviews note a tonal shift: Tom Holland, now 30, plays a Peter Parker burdened by adult conflicts such as loneliness, responsibility, and the sacrifice of his closest relationships. La Vanguardia's Philipp Engel calls the first act the strongest, highlighting a well-shot action sequence through New York and a clever moment of Parker sitting beside a washing machine spinning his suit. ABC describes a superhero "attacked by conflicts with a bit more depth" but warns that the loss of adolescent humour may disconnect younger viewers. El Mundo praises the energy of Destin Daniel Cretton's direction and the performances, especially Zendaya's, but criticises a "confusing pile-up of plots, characters, subplots and a bombastic soundtrack", concluding the film is necessary but not sufficient to refresh the franchise.

Plot and returning characters

The story picks up after the events of "No Way Home", in which Doctor Strange's spell erased Peter Parker from collective memory. Parker now keeps his distance from MJ (Zendaya) and best friend Ned, neither of whom remember him. The plot splits between a telepathic threat linked to Jean Grey and Parker's attempt to win back MJ's affection. Unlike previous instalments, there is no classic supervillain; the antagonist is a more psychological, intangible menace. The cast includes Sadie Sink, Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle / Punisher, and Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner / Hulk. Bernthal's Punisher is singled out by several critics as the standout supporting performance. The film runs 145 minutes and is distributed by Sony Pictures in collaboration with Marvel Studios. It marks Cretton's first Spider-Man film after directing "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings".

Connections and future teases

A post-credits scene places Spider-Man in space, laying groundwork for "Avengers: Doomsday", scheduled for release on 18 December. El Periódico also notes a visual nod to Zendaya's earlier 2026 film "The Drama": a wedding venue in "Brand New Day" appears to replicate the set where her character married Robert Pattinson's. Most plot threads are left unresolved, signalling that Holland's tenure as the web-slinger is far from over. The film is described by some outlets as a transitional chapter, setting up a new phase for the character while delivering the spectacle expected of the Marvel-Sony partnership.