Spider-Man has always shared a special bond with the Indian audience, but the opening of Spider-Man: Brand New Day has taken that relationship to an entirely different level. The web-slinger has officially scripted history by recording the biggest Hollywood opening in Indian box office history. By netting 60.60 Cr on its first day (without 3D charges), the film has comfortably shattered the previous record held by Avengers: Endgame, which had debuted with 53.60 Cr back in 2019. It is a sensational start that proves the superhero genre still holds immense power over the domestic market.
The scale of this success is even more apparent when you look at the gross figures. The film collected a massive 72.50 Cr gross on Day 1, across approximately 17,250 shows (online) nationwide. This rapid pace allowed the movie to cross the 50 Crore net milestone within just a few hours of the first shows commencing. When we break down the collections by language, the English version led the way with 32.25 Cr net, while the Hindi version followed strongly with 22.00 Cr. The southern markets also showed great enthusiasm, with Telugu and Tamil versions contributing 3.25 Cr and 3.00 Cr respectively.
The international explosion is just as significant as the Indian success, with the film witnessing a massive launch across global markets. In Europe, the United Kingdom led the charge with a 7.8 million dollar debut, while France followed with 6.75 million dollars. South Korea also proved to be a powerhouse, contributing 4.8 million dollars on the first day alone. Perhaps the most impactful story comes from China, which emerged as the single largest international territory with an approximate 35 million dollar opening. This is a major win for the franchise, especially since the previous film, No Way Home, did not have a theatrical release in the country.
In North America, the film is maintaining a dominant presence across 4,300 theaters, and the trend of premium screens driving sales is being mirrored globally. Based on these record-breaking figures, trade analysts are predicting a colossal worldwide opening weekend in the range of 500 million to 550 million dollars. If the current trajectory holds, some early projections even suggest the global total could skyrocket closer to the 800 million dollar mark by the end of its first weekend.
A very clear trend emerging from the opening day is the audience preference for 3D formats over traditional 2D screenings. It seems viewers are eager for the most immersive experience possible for this high-octane sequel. This is reflected in the show counts, where 3D screenings significantly outnumber 2D options. The occupancy rates tell the same story; the English 3D version maintained a solid overall occupancy of 56.58 percent, peaking at over 65 percent during night shows. In contrast, the Hindi 2D version saw a much quieter start with around 28.83 percent occupancy, confirming that for a spectacle of this nature, the Indian audience is happy to pay a premium for 3D.
This preference is clearly visible in the show distribution across major cities. In Mumbai, theaters allocated 762 shows to the English 3D version, while the 2D format received only 162 screenings. A similar trend was seen in Delhi-NCR, where the Hindi 3D version recorded 51.8 percent occupancy, which was significantly higher than the 35.8 percent seen for the 2D version.
The digital engagement metrics have been nothing short of explosive. On BookMyShow, the film recorded a total of 2.91 million tickets sold when combining pre-sales and opening day bookings. This is the highest volume seen for any Hollywood release since August 2023, placing it well ahead of other major titles like Deadpool and Wolverine and Avatar: Fire and Ash. With nearly 2 million tickets sold in pre-sales alone and another 9 lakh tickets booked on Thursday, the buzz was palpable long before the first screen lit up.
National chains played a pivotal role in driving these historic numbers. Approximately 5.95 lakh tickets were sold across PVR, INOX, and Cinepolis on the first day. PVR spearheaded this volume with roughly 2.92 lakh tickets, followed by INOX with 1.95 lakh and Cinepolis with 1.05 lakh. These chains saw their highest turnouts in major urban hubs, where the film grossed over 27 Cr in advance bookings alone. This high level of demand resulted in evening and night shows in cities like Hyderabad and Kochi touching occupancy levels as high as 80 percent.
Looking at the regional breakdown, Hyderabad was a standout performer for the 3D format with nearly 70 percent occupancy, followed closely by Kochi at 62 percent and Bengaluru at 61 percent. Even in the Hindi-speaking belts like Delhi-NCR, the occupancy for 3D shows remained robust at around 50 percent. While these are still early estimates, the verdict is already clear. Spider-Man: Brand New Day has set a new benchmark for international cinema in India, and with the weekend ahead, we are likely looking at more records being rewritten in the coming days.
Bollywood
