“Spider-Man: Brand New Day” swung into theaters at the end of July to smash through box office records like the web-slinger shattering skyscraper glass on the way to track down a villain. As streaming continues to compete with in-person theaters, what does this success indicate for the rest of 2026 at the box office?
Chris Bumbray, a film critic, contributor to IMDb and editor-in-chief of JoBlo.com, joined Audacy’s KCBS Radio this week to explain.
“Well, ever since COVID-19, the box office has been down significantly. And we’re actually up 20% this year compared to last year,” said Bumbray. “And there is some thinking that by the end of the year, we could possibly get to over $10 billion, which would be the highest since 2019 before COVID, which was $11.4 billion.”
In addition to the latest Spider-Man outing (films featuring Peter Parker and his masked vigilantism tend to perform well at the box office), Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” – also featuring “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” stars and Hollywood’s favorite couple, Tom Holland and Zendaya – was a smash hit. Bumbray mentioned other big wins for theaters this year, including low-budget horror films “The Backrooms” and “Obsession” as well as the sci-fi movie “Project Hail Mary”, “Toy Story 5” and “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie”.
While “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” is part of the Marvel machine that created monster hits like “Avengers: Endgame”, Bumbray warned against seeing its success as a return to form for comic book movies in general. Titles from Marvel dominated the box office through the 2010s.
“I don’t think that comic movies or even Marvel movies are necessarily even that bankable anymore,” said Bumbray. “I think Spider-Man in some ways is the exception because people just happen to love that character. I think the real test of course is going to be 'Avengers: Doomsday' when it comes out.”
Robert Downey Jr., who played Tony Stark/Iron Man, a central figure in Marvel’s “Avengers” franchise, is returning to play a new character, villain Dr. Doom, in the movie slated for release on Dec. 18. That day, “Dune: Part Three” starring Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya is also expected to be released.
“The audience that went to see Iron Man 20 years ago now has children of their own and the younger audiences, the teenage audiences are not embracing these movies as they once did, they're finding their own kind of heroes to look up to,” Bumbray said.
The “Dunesday” matchup is something to watch, he added. Could it be a repeat of the success of “Barbenheimer” (that was the successful opening weekend of Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” and Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” back in 2023)? We’ll have to wait and see.
