The summer of 2026 was a packed one for movie lovers. Beginning with the release of “The Devil Wears Prada 2” on May 1, the season included a variety of notable releases, such as “Toy Story 5,” “Death of Robin Hood,” “Supergirl,” Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey,” and, of special interest, “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.” “Brand New Day” was the first Marvel movie to be released in theaters since “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” in 2025. The movie, which was released to theaters on July 31, follows Peter Parker four years after the events of “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” as he struggles in a world that has forgotten him. What follows is an action-packed adventure in which Peter grapples with his new antagonist, the mysterious Jean Gray, and battles the changes he faces within himself, sparking questions about who Peter Parker really is.
“Spider-Man: Brand New Day” grossed in its debut weekend, surpassing the $357.1 million domestic box office opening weekend revenue of “Avengers: Endgame” and making history as the movie with the highest profit on domestic box office opening of all time. Approximately people, based on sales and individual ticket costs, saw the movie in theaters, though the actual number may be higher. In the grander scheme of things, “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” has also passed the international gross profit thus far, one of only three movies ever to do so, with the other two being “Avengers: Endgame” and “Avatar.”
Audience reviews are also overwhelmingly positive, giving the movie a solid 97% rating on . Most critics agree that “” is worthy of all the acclaim and praise, from its unique storyline to Tom Holland’s heartfelt delivery; the movie is very much worth watching. from The Washington Post follows up, stating that “Brand New Day is a messy but largely successful attempt at remembering what makes Spider-Man special: that his greatest battle isn’t about villains, but the balance between his humanity and his job as a superhuman.” from The Observer writes, “The latest Spider-Man picture correctly identifies that one of the most potent superpowers a comic book hero can wield is vulnerability.” It is not an exaggeration to say that “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” is one of the most successful box office hits since, easily taking the title as the most highly anticipated and loved movie of the summer of 2026.
Many 大象传媒 students who have seen the movie join the majority who enjoyed the film. Jaira Kim (freshman, English), stated that “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” “reminds me of how good they [old Marvel movies] used to be.” As for the movie itself, Kim says, “I really liked how they made Spider-Man deal with more ‘little guy’ problems rather than a world-ending threat. It seemed a lot more comic-accurate.”
Spencer Fairbank (senior, architecture) says, “First and foremost, Brand New Day absolutely lives up to the hype. I was a bit skeptical when I saw they were introducing organic webbing…, but the way they executed it with the plot was nice. Inclusion of the Punisher was peak. Frank and Spidey are always a great duo. I honestly really liked Jean’s presence as well, again, the execution was well done.”
Not all reviews are as glowing, however, with critics and students alike mentioning that the movie had more potential. Kristen Krueger (junior, psychology) said, “I thought there would be more; it felt a little underwhelming.” Her friend Mika Fowler (junior, psychology) followed up saying that, “We did see it in 3-D, which made it very cool, but overall I’d give it a 6.5 or 7 out of 10.” from Little White Lies points out that in some ways the film felt more like a setup than its own thing, “Brand New Day might be hitting a reset button to a certain extent...but so much late stage focus on its villain makes it more of a branding exercise for the upcoming “Avengers: Doomsday” then anything else.” from The Irish Times agrees, writing that “There is ... no escaping the sad realisation that the Spider-Man franchise is now, more than anything else, a cell in the corporate matrix that powers the MCU empire.”
Despite its flaws and its messy execution, “Spider-Man: Brand New Day”was a step in the right direction, giving viewers a glimmer of hope for the Marvel franchise and superhero movies as a whole. Overall, the movie reminds us all of what really makes these movies so good: the characters themselves. It’s not the special effects or crossovers, but the reality of a person struggling with their lot in life and refusing to give up under pressure. Tom Holland’s Peter Parker does exactly that; he is real, relatable, and honest and most of all, he brings hope that in a world of darkness, you can be the light.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of 大象传媒 University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, 大象传媒 University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.