Level 1 — Absolute Beginner
A new Spider-Man movie is doing very well. It is called Spider-Man: Brand New Day. It came out on July 31, 2026. It stars Tom Holland as Spider-Man.
By Labor Day weekend, the movie made $891.8 million in the United States and Canada. That is very close to $900 million. Only one other movie has ever made that much money in North America. That movie is Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
The Spider-Man movie also stars Zendaya, Sadie Sink, and Jacob Batalon. Jon Bernthal, Florence Pugh, Marisa Tomei, and Mark Ruffalo are also in the movie.
That same weekend, a new cartoon movie called Coyote vs. Acme opened in second place. It made about $15.9 million. This was a big surprise because the movie studio almost never released it at all.
- box office
- The total amount of money a movie earns from ticket sales.
- domestic
- Happening inside one's own country, here meaning the United States and Canada.
- milestone
- An important point or amount reached in something's progress.
- debut
- The first showing or release of something new.
- shelved
- Put aside and not released or used.
- animated
- Made using drawings or computer images instead of real actors.
- thriller
- A movie that is exciting and full of suspense.
- franchise
- A series of related movies made over time.
Level 2 — Elementary
Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which opened on July 31, 2026, is closing in on a box office record. By the Labor Day weekend, around September 1 to 4, 2026, the film had earned $891.8 million at the domestic box office, meaning ticket sales in the United States and Canada.
That total puts the movie right on the edge of $900 million, a number only one other film has ever reached domestically: Star Wars: The Force Awakens, released back in 2015. If Spider-Man: Brand New Day crosses that line, it will become just the second movie in history to do it.
The film is the fourth Spider-Man movie starring Tom Holland as Peter Parker. It is directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and also features Zendaya as Michelle Jones, Sadie Sink as Jean Grey, Jacob Batalon as Ned Leeds, Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle, Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, Marisa Tomei as May Parker, and Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner.
On the very same Labor Day weekend, the animated film Coyote vs. Acme opened in second place with about $15.9 million. That debut nearly doubled the opening weekend of the thriller The Dog Stars, directed by Ridley Scott, which landed in third place. Coyote vs. Acme's strong showing surprised many, since Warner Bros. had shelved the film in 2023 and 2024, planning to write it off as a tax loss instead of releasing it at all.
- box office
- The money a movie earns from selling tickets in theaters.
- domestic
- Relating to one's own country, here the United States and Canada together.
- milestone
- A meaningful point of achievement, often measured in a large round number.
- debut
- A first appearance, such as a film's first weekend in theaters.
- shelved
- Set aside indefinitely rather than being released or completed.
- tax loss
- A financial loss claimed for tax purposes instead of releasing a finished project.
- franchise
- A connected series of films sharing characters or a story world.
- opening weekend
- The first few days a movie is shown in theaters, often used to measure its early success.
Level 3 — Intermediate
As the Labor Day weekend of 2026 drew to a close, Spider-Man: Brand New Day stood on the threshold of a rare box office achievement. Released July 31 and directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, the fourth Tom Holland-led Spider-Man film had accumulated $891.8 million at the domestic box office by early September, leaving it within striking distance of the $900 million mark.
That figure carries particular weight because only one film in history has ever crossed $900 million domestically: Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which achieved the feat in 2015. Should Spider-Man: Brand New Day cross the same threshold, it would become just the second movie ever to do so, a distinction that would place it in extraordinarily rare company after little more than a month in theaters.
The film's ensemble cast reflects its ambitions, with Tom Holland reprising Peter Parker alongside Zendaya as Michelle Jones, Sadie Sink as Jean Grey, and Jacob Batalon as Ned Leeds, while Jon Bernthal, Florence Pugh, Marisa Tomei, and Mark Ruffalo round out the roster as Frank Castle, Yelena Belova, May Parker, and Bruce Banner respectively.
The same weekend produced a notable subplot in its own right. The animated Coyote vs. Acme opened in second place with roughly $15.9 million, a debut that nearly doubled the opening of Ridley Scott's thriller The Dog Stars in third place. The result carried an added irony, since Warner Bros. had shelved Coyote vs. Acme entirely between 2023 and 2024, intending to write the finished film off as a tax loss rather than bring it to audiences at all.
- threshold
- A point marking the start of something new or the edge of an achievement.
- accumulated
- Gathered or built up gradually over time.
- distinction
- A notable quality or achievement that sets something apart.
- ensemble cast
- A group of actors given roughly equal importance in a production.
- reprising
- Playing a role again that one has performed before.
- subplot
- A secondary storyline or event running alongside a main one.
- irony
- A situation that turns out the opposite of what might be expected.
- write off
- To formally record something as a loss for financial or tax purposes.
Level 4 — Advanced
By the close of the 2026 Labor Day weekend, Spider-Man: Brand New Day had positioned itself on the cusp of a box office milestone reached by only one film in cinema history. The fourth installment of Tom Holland's run as Peter Parker, directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and released July 31, had amassed $891.8 million domestically, a sum edging it toward the $900 million threshold previously cleared solely by Star Wars: The Force Awakens back in 2015.
Should the film surpass that figure, it would join an exceptionally narrow tier of box office achievement, becoming merely the second title in the history of North American exhibition to do so. That the feat may be accomplished within roughly five weeks of release underscores both the durability of the Spider-Man property and the film's evident appeal across repeat viewings, a pattern typically reserved for the rarest of theatrical events.
The film's commercial momentum is anchored by an ensemble that pairs Holland's Peter Parker with Zendaya's Michelle Jones, Sadie Sink's Jean Grey, and Jacob Batalon's Ned Leeds, while Jon Bernthal, Florence Pugh, Marisa Tomei, and Mark Ruffalo lend further gravity as Frank Castle, Yelena Belova, May Parker, and Bruce Banner, respectively, a roster spanning multiple corners of the broader cinematic universe.
The same weekend furnished a smaller but telling counterpoint. Coyote vs. Acme, the animated feature Warner Bros. had once slated for quiet extinction as a tax write off between 2023 and 2024 rather than theatrical release, debuted in second place with approximately $15.9 million, nearly double the opening tally of Ridley Scott's thriller The Dog Stars in third. The juxtaposition, a film once destined for oblivion outperforming a starkly promoted original property, offered its own commentary on the unpredictability of audience appetite even as Spider-Man: Brand New Day continued its march toward box office history.
- cusp
- The point just before a significant change or achievement occurs.
- installment
- One entry in an ongoing series, such as a film franchise.
- exhibition
- The public showing of a film in theaters.
- durability
- The capacity to remain strong, popular, or effective over time.
- gravity
- Seriousness or weight of importance, here referring to a cast's prestige.
- counterpoint
- Something that contrasts with or offsets another thing, highlighting a difference.
- juxtaposition
- The placing of two contrasting things close together for comparative effect.
- oblivion
- A state of being completely forgotten or destroyed.
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