LAGOS (XOL Africa) — Marvel Studios’ latest blockbuster, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, has delivered one of the biggest opening weekends in cinema history, earning $927 million worldwide and setting new box office records across Africa, highlighting the continent’s growing influence in the global film industry.
The film, starring Tom Holland and Zendaya, generated $335 million in North America and $572 million from international markets during its opening weekend. The global debut is the second-largest opening weekend ever, trailing only Avengers: Endgame, which opened with more than $1.2 billion in 2019.
The blockbuster has already surpassed its estimated $225 million production budget, giving Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures a major commercial win ahead of the highly anticipated release of Avengers: Doomsday.
Africa Delivers Record-Breaking Results
Africa emerged as one of the film’s standout success stories, with South Africa and West Africa rewriting regional box office records.
In South Africa, Spider-Man: Brand New Day recorded the biggest opening weekend in the country’s cinema history, grossing $2.66 million (R44 million) in just three days.
Meanwhile, West Africa celebrated its own historic milestone as the film became the highest-grossing opening weekend ever recorded in the region and Sony Pictures’ biggest opening in West Africa.
The film also broke multiple regional records, including:
- Biggest opening weekend in West African box office history
- Highest advance ticket sales
- Largest preview screening performance
- Biggest opening day
- Fastest film to reach ₦700 million
- Biggest superhero movie opening
- Biggest opening in the Spider-Man franchise across West Africa
The record-breaking performance underscores the rapid growth of Africa’s cinema market and the increasing importance of African audiences to major Hollywood studios.
Global Momentum
Internationally, the film posted particularly strong performances in key markets, including China, where it earned $121 million, and the United Kingdom, which contributed $49 million during its opening weekend.
Set several years after the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home, the new installment follows Peter Parker as he continues protecting New York while living in a world where no one remembers his identity.
Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige thanked cinema audiences worldwide for their overwhelming support, describing the film’s global reception as “phenomenal.”
The film’s success also signals continued recovery for the global cinema industry, with strong theatrical releases pushing North American box office revenues closer to the $10 billion mark for the first time since before the COVID-19 pandemic.
For Africa, however, the story extends beyond Hollywood’s latest blockbuster. The record-breaking performance demonstrates the continent’s growing box office strength, with African moviegoers increasingly shaping the commercial success of major global releases.
