Kevin Feige can’t stop breaking his own box office benchmarks. As the president of Marvel Studios and architect of the sprawling, ultra-successful Marvel Cinematic Universe, Feige is now responsible for the four biggest opening weekends in history.
His latest record-breaker is “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” which collected a dizzying $360 million in its domestic debut and supplanted 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame” ($357 million) as the biggest opening weekend ever. To get a sense of the size and scale of the accomplishment, the third- and fourth-largest launches — 2021’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home” with $260 million and 2018’s “Avengers: Infinity War” with $257 million — earned $100 million less to start and still became two of the highest-grossing movies ever. All that’s to say, there’s no telling where “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” the 38th installment in the MCU, will wind up by the end of its theatrical run. With $932 million globally after three (!) days in theaters, the Tom Holland-led superhero adventure will cross $1 billion at a near-record clip and should climb to $2 billion in no time.
“It’s overwhelming, frankly, to find ourselves in this position on a Monday morning,” says Feige. “In the very best way.”
“Brand New Day,” Holland’s fourth solo outing as Spider-Man, follows the aftermath of the titular web-slinger’s pivotal decision to erase his identity from the world in order to salvage the multiverse. He’s still fighting crime, but Marvel’s friendly, neighborhood hero is seriously struggling without his pals (Zendaya and Jacob Batalon) by his side, and with a mysterious entity (Sadie Sink has something to do with that) threatening New York City.
After a historic weekend at the box office, Feige spoke to Variety about Tom Holland’s enduring popularity as Peter Parker, Sink’s grand MCU debut, and what the success of “Brand New Day” means for December’s epic crossover event, “Avengers: Doomsday.”
Prior to this weekend, did you ever think another movie could open to more than $300 million? After all, “Avengers: Endgame” — the only other movie to achieve those initial heights — was the culmination of 22 interconnected films.
I didn’t — for all the reasons I don’t think anyone did, because of COVID, because of the beating that theatrical took for so long. But once the bar had been raised, it could be raised again, right? The first movie to ever cross $100 million over opening weekend was Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man.” The first to cross $150 million in one weekend was Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man 3.” The first to $200 million was the first “Avengers.” And then, of course, the first to $300 million was “Endgame.” We did think that things can increase, but the past five or six years didn’t necessarily feel like that was the case. That’s a long-winded way of saying I did not expect “Endgame’s” record to be beat, but I couldn’t be happier that it was beat this past weekend by our 38th MCU movie.
The debuts of “Brand New Day” and “Endgame” are $100 million above the next-biggest opening weekends. How did this movie rise to that level of popularity?
It’s a testament to [director] Destin Daniel Cretton, Tom Holland, and [producer] Amy Pascal. And [Sony Pictures chairman] Tom Rothman, for letting us do this four times now — working to bring Spidey to the screen. It’s a testament to what Stan Lee and Steve Ditko created all those years ago. People can write about changing tastes, but as characters that grow and evolve through the decades, there are none better than the Marvel characters — and none better than Peter Parker. When you find an actor like Tom Holland to bring that character to life, it is the magic formula.
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It’s hard to imagine Tom Holland departing the role. Are there plans to make another “Spider-Man” movie with him?
There are always plans. But right now, he’s going to rest after that global tour. He and Zendaya are going to take a good and restful victory lap, which they very much deserve.
Why did you want to keep Sadie Sink’s casting a secret?
It’s purely about creating the best possible opening weekend experience for the audience. Sadie’s character is one that our fans know has immense significance within the Marvel Universe, and she plays a key role in the future of the MCU. I’m just happy that the secret is finally out and that Sadie can stop dodging the question.
How does “Brand New Day” set up the MCU moving forward?
For people who’ve seen “Brand New Day,” they know the storyline leads us into more “Spider-Man” films and into the future of the MCU. And, I think we’re still in spoiler territory because the movie only just came out, but it leads into another very well-known Marvel franchise created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.
There was a time when superhero movies couldn’t miss at the box office. What have you learned from recent hits and misses in the genre?
I can only speak to “Brand New Day,” and audiences responded to a movie that’s well-crafted and well-made. They don’t always do that. But when they do, it’s a nice reminder that success builds success. “The Odyssey,” “Toy Story 5” and all the great movies that have been in theaters this year reminds people there’s nothing like a shared experience. There’s nothing like a moment for the whole globe to come together.
With some of the recent misses, though, it feels like audiences are getting tired of more of the same story. Do you agree?
Many things can be true at once. I think last year’s “Fantastic Four” looked and sounded like nothing that had been done in a superhero movie before, and it only [grossed] $521 million. “Brand New Day” is very directly a part four. It picks up right after the events of “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” and yet it tells a story that resonates. It’s ultimately about loneliness and the dangers of staying in our apartments by ourselves, looking at our phones. That resonates across cultures and across the globe right now.
What does the excitement for “Brand New Day” mean for “Doomsday” in December?
For “Avengers: Doomsday” and “X Men,” it bodes very well. When a shared universe works, these are the results.
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