A Brand New Day for Spider-Man — and $2 Billion to Prove It

Tom Holland stars as Spider-Man in "Spider-Man: Brand New Day." (Sony Pictures/TNS)

by Liam Gatcliffe

Since 2002, superhero fans have left cinemas in awe of the web-slinging New Yorker that the world has come to love as Spider-Man. Tobey Maguire starred for three films, Andrew Garfield for two, and lately, Tom Holland for the past decade. Holland first appeared in Captain America: Civil War (2016), and since then has established a standalone trilogy along with some other Avengers films. Debates have now begun over which of the three is the superior Spiderman, which intensified when all three actors appeared in Jon Watts’s 2021 film Spider-Man: No Way Home. Holland may have solidified his legacy, however, with his fourth film that graced theaters on July 31st. 

Where we left off…

Spider-Man: Brand New Day picks up right where No Way Home finishes. As the only solution to saving the world from incoming universes and their evils, Peter Parker pleads with Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) to cast a spell in which every human being forgets who he is. Reluctantly, Strange does so, and every memory of someone who knew and loved Peter Parker was erased. Peter’s girlfriend, MJ (Zendaya), and his best friend, Ned (Jacob Batalon), go off to MIT while Peter fully submerges into the Spider-Man identity with no one else on Earth who loves him. 

New York’s streets have been cleaned up, and Spider-Man is lauded as a hero. Nobody knows who lies under the mask, but the masked hero is reaching his mental breaking point. New evils arise, and Peter must face the hard truths of his humanity. 

Historic Success

Brand New Day has enjoyed massive success at the box office, crossing the $2 billion global mark in merely 17 days. This is a historical milestone, as only Avengers: Endgame (2019) reaches this achievement in fewer (11) days. In fact, BND has already grossed more than all superhero movies released in 2025 altogether.

Tom Holland has also catapulted himself into conversations with some of the greatest and highest-grossing actors of all time. A participant in Endgame as well, Holland and his wife Zendaya are starring in Christopher Nolan’s new film epic, The Odyssey. Clearly, films with this power couple are turning movie theaters into frenzy zones on weekends. 

Returns and changes to the crew

Destin Daniel Cretton took the reins from Jon Watts as director of this fourth installment in Holland’s movies, who had previously helped produce the preceding trilogy. However, writers Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers remained on set to help produce their fourth Spidey film, showing some true continuity across the past decade of the Peter Parker story. 

Regarding the cast, Stranger Things star Sadie Sink joins the MCU in an undisclosed role (I won’t spoil it for you!). Jon Bernthal reprises his role as Frank Castle (from Punisher), as does Florence Pugh in her oftentimes comedic role of Yelena Belova. 

“As someone who always loved Spider-Man as a kid and has read the comics, I can tell you that Brand New Day is indisputably the greatest representation of Spider-Man I’ve ever seen. The comic-accurate suit, the quips, comedy, and relatable personal struggles was perfectly executed and is exactly what Spider-Man was made to represent. I can’t wait to see what the future brings for Tom Holland’s Spider-Man," said Anthony Ortega '28.

My Thoughts

I’ve already seen BND twice in theaters, and once during an IMAX screening. I’m giving it a solid 3.5/5 rating. I truly enjoyed the film. It was fun, engaging, relatable, and had a truly fantastic soundtrack (Tame Impala, Bad Bunny, and more). 

I believed, however, that the vulnerability and humane grief that Peter Parker goes through as a young guy in his 20s is the most remarkable takeaway. Of course, BND had its fights, explosions, and combat. The movie felt more grounded than the others, though. It explored more serious topics, fostering deeper emotional connection to Peter Parker himself, the guy behind the mask that nobody knows. 

As a sentimental superhero fan, I confess that No Way Home was my favorite of the Holland movies, with its Tobey/Andrew collaboration and the high stakes involved. BND is still a fantastic film, and gives 2026 cinemas its Barbenheimer moment in collaboration with The Odyssey. 

Whether this will be your first Marvel film or you’ve been a fanatic since the days of Iron Man, I guarantee that you will leave a BND screening at your local theater and realize that the two and a half hour experience was worth every penny!