Pop Culture & Entertainment
The Biggest Opening Weekends in Box Office History
Spider-Man: Brand New Day opened to about $360 million in the US and Canada on July 31, 2026, edging Avengers: Endgame’s $357.1 million to take the all-time record. Marvel films fill 11 of the top 17 spots. This ranks the opening weekend only, not a film’s lifetime gross, which is a different list.
Pictured: the official trailer for Spider-Man: Brand New Day, #1 with a $360.1 million domestic opening weekend.
Data date and method. As of October 11, 2026. Each figure is the film’s domestic (US and Canada) opening-weekend gross in US$ millions, as reported at the time and not adjusted for inflation; adjusted for inflation, Avengers: Endgame is still the biggest opening ever.[3] The rule is the standard Friday–Sunday 3-day opening, using final Monday actuals rather than Sunday estimates. Where a film opened over a holiday weekend, the 3-day number is still the one ranked and the “4-day holiday opening?” column flags it — only Black Panther (Presidents’ Day) applies here. Per-theater averages are gross divided by opening theaters, except where studios reported a figure (Endgame, Infinity War, Age of Ultron, Civil War, The Force Awakens, Beauty and the Beast), and a few theater counts differ by a handful between sources. Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s $360.1 million is The Numbers’ figure; most outlets round it to $360 million.[1][2] The top five were cross-checked across at least two sources. Among 2026 releases, Toy Story 5 ($159.7 million, June 2026) was the biggest opening before Brand New Day and falls short of the table; Avatar: Fire and Ash (December 2025) opened to about $88 million.[1][15]
The Top 10
#1
Spider-Man: Brand New Day — $360.1 million
Sony’s fourth Tom Holland Spider-Man film opened July 31, 2026 on 4,487 screens. The Sunday estimate was $355 million, which would have been second to Endgame, but Monday actuals lifted it to about $360 million and the all-time record.[1][2] A record Thursday-preview haul of about $72 million fed it, and it added about $572 million overseas for a roughly $927 million global debut.[2][3]
#2
Avengers: Endgame — $357.1 million
Endgame held the record for seven years. It opened on 4,662 screens, then the widest release ever, and its $76,601 per-theater average was a record for a wide release.[4] Thursday previews alone made $60 million, and the film took $1.2 billion worldwide in its first weekend.[4][5]
#3
Spider-Man: No Way Home — $260.1 million
The Sunday estimate was $253 million, and actuals rose to $260.1 million on 4,336 screens.[6] About $50 million came from Thursday previews, and the film opened to roughly $600 million worldwide.[6]
#4
Avengers: Infinity War — $257.7 million
Disney’s first estimate was $250 million; a strong Sunday lifted the actuals to $257.7 million on 4,474 screens, passing The Force Awakens.[7] Sunday alone made $69.2 million, a single-day record, and the film passed $630 million worldwide.[7]
#5
Star Wars: The Force Awakens — $248.0 million
The film opened December 18, 2015 on 4,134 screens with $247,966,675, a record that stood until Infinity War.[8] Its $59,982 per-theater average was the best for a wide release until Endgame beat it.[4]
#6
Star Wars: The Last Jedi — $220.0 million
Final numbers matched Sunday’s $220 million estimate, about 11% behind The Force Awakens, for the second-biggest opening of all time when it was released.[9] It played on about 4,232 screens; sources differ by a couple of theaters.[9]
#7
Deadpool & Wolverine — $211.4 million
Disney estimated $205 million on Sunday; actuals reached $211,435,291 on 4,210 screens.[10] It is the biggest R-rated opening ever.[10]
#8
Jurassic World — $208.8 million
Universal’s dinosaur sequel broke The Avengers’ record with $208,806,270, opening June 12, 2015 on about 4,274 screens (4,291 the following weekend).[11] It is the only non-Disney, non-Sony film in the top 10.
#9
The Avengers — $207.4 million
The first team-up film opened May 4, 2012 on 4,349 screens with $207,438,708 — the first film past $200 million in a weekend.[12] Early estimates said $200.3 million; actuals came in higher, and it finished with $623 million domestic and $1.5 billion worldwide.[12]
#10
Black Panther — $202.0 million
Black Panther opened over Presidents’ Day weekend on 4,020 screens. This table uses its standard 3-day gross of $202.0 million; the 4-day holiday total was higher, at an estimated $235 million-plus.[13] Its Monday gross of about $40 million stood as a record until Spider-Man: Brand New Day.[13][14]
Sources
- The Numbers, “Biggest 1st Weekends” (all-time domestic opening-weekend chart) — https://www.the-numbers.com/box-office-records/domestic/all-movies/weekend/1st; CNBC, “Spider-Man: Brand New Day beats out Avengers: Endgame for highest domestic opening ever” (Aug. 3, 2026) — https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/03/spider-man-brand-new-day-debut-360m-highest-domestic-opening-ever.html.
- The Hollywood Reporter, “Spider-Man: Brand New Day Opening Beats Endgame for Box Office Record” (4,487 screens, Monday actuals) — https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/spider-man-brand-new-day-opening-record-endgame-box-office-1236662986/; Deadline, “Spider-Man: Brand New Day Beats Avengers: Endgame All-Time Opening Record” — https://deadline.com/2026/08/box-office-spider-man-brand-new-day-1237014268/.
- Visual Capitalist, “Ranked: The 25 Biggest Movie Opening Weekends, Adjusted for Inflation” — https://www.visualcapitalist.com/biggest-movie-opening-weekends-all-time-inflation-adjusted/; The Source, “Spider-Man: Brand New Day Delivers Historic $927 Million Global Debut” — https://thesource.com/2026/08/03/spider-man-brand-new-day-box-office-record-debut/.
- The Numbers, “Avengers: Endgame (2019)” ($357,115,007; 4,662 theaters) — https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Avengers-Endgame-%282019%29; Box Office Pro, “Weekend Box Office: Avengers: Endgame Record” — https://www.boxofficepro.com/weekend-box-office-avengers-endgame-record/.
- Deadline, “Avengers: Endgame Rests At $357M+ Opening Record” (Apr. 2019) — https://deadline.com/2019/04/avengers-endgame-opening-weekend-box-office-record-1202602445/.
- Box Office Pro, “Weekend Actuals: Spider-Man: No Way Home Nets $260M Domestic Debut” — https://www.boxofficepro.com/weekend-actuals-spider-man-no-way-home-nets-260m-domestic-debut-second-best-opening-of-all-time-and-600m-global-bow/.
- Associated Press, “‘Infinity War’ record opening revised to $257.7M” (4,474 locations; $57,599 average) — https://wjla.com/news/entertainment/infinity-war-record-opening-revised-to-2577m.
- Box Office Mojo, Star Wars: The Force Awakens weekend chart ($247,966,675; 4,134 theaters) — https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl2691925505/weekend.
- The Hollywood Reporter, “Star Wars: The Last Jedi Box Office Hits Record $220M” — https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/star-wars-last-jedi-box-office-hits-record-220m-us-1068719; GeekWire, “Star Wars: The Last Jedi: huge $220M opening” — https://www.geekwire.com/2017/star-wars-last-jedi-huge-220m-opening-second-time-behind-force-awakens/.
- The Numbers and Box Office Mojo, Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) ($211,435,291; 4,210 theaters) — https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Deadpool-and-Wolverine-%282024%29; Box Office Pro, “Weekend Box Office: Deadpool & Wolverine Opens With Record-Shattering Debut” — https://www.boxofficepro.com/?p=34517.
- The Numbers, “Jurassic World (2015)” ($208,806,270; 4,274 opening theaters) — https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Jurassic-World; Washington Informer/AP, “Jurassic World passes Avengers for biggest opening ever” — https://www.washingtoninformer.com/jurassic-world-passes-avengers-for-biggest-opening-ever/.
- The Numbers, “The Avengers (2012)” ($207,438,708; 4,349 theaters) — https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Avengers-The-(2012); Box Office Mojo, The Avengers release page — https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl709199361/rankings.
- Box Office Watch, Black Panther (4,020 theaters, $202.0M three-day) — https://boxofficewatch.com/movies/black-panther; Screen Crush, “Weekend Box Office: Black Panther Records” — https://screencrush.com/weekend-box-office-black-panther-records/; Spin, Presidents’ Day 4-day projection — https://www.spinmagazine.com/2018/02/black-panther-bounds-to-record-shattering-235m-plus-bow-after-strong-opening-weekend/.
- Variety / Deadline, “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” record Monday coverage (Black Panther’s earlier Monday record) — https://deadline.com/2026/08/box-office-spider-man-brand-new-day-monday-record-1237017035/.
- Box Office Pro, “Weekend Box Office: Avatar reigns” (Avatar: Fire and Ash, $88M / 3,800 screens) — https://www.boxofficepro.com/weekend-box-office-avatar-reigns-as-david-and-housemaid-post-solid-debuts/. Other rows (Age of Ultron, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Incredibles 2, Civil War, The Rise of Skywalker, Beauty and the Beast, Iron Man 3) from The Numbers and Box Office Mojo release pages and Box Office Pro / Hollywood Reporter weekend reports.