The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day — Inside the Biggest Month Cinemas Have Ever Had
Two blockbusters, fourteen days apart, one record after another — and Tom Holland in both of them. A look at how The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day rewrote the box office record book in July 2026.
Fourteen days separated them. Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey opened on 15 July 2026. Spider-Man: Brand New Day followed on 29 July. By the time August arrived, both had crossed a billion dollars and the box office record book needed rewriting.
And one actor was in both films.
Side by side
| The Odyssey | Spider-Man: Brand New Day | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 15 July 2026 | 29 July 2026 |
| Director | Christopher Nolan | Destin Daniel Cretton |
| Studio | Universal Pictures / Syncopy | Marvel Studios / Columbia Pictures |
| Runtime | 173 min | 145 min |
| Budget | $250,000,000 | $225,000,000 |
| Worldwide gross | $1,104,804,890 | $1,665,089,000 |
| Audience score (TMDB) | 8.0 / 10 | 7.9 / 10 |
Figures as of 10 August 2026, with both films still in release.
The Odyssey: Nolan's biggest film
Nolan adapted Homer with a cast that reads like a decade of prestige cinema at once: Matt Damon as Odysseus, alongside Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, Tom Holland, Himesh Patel, John Leguizamo and Travis Scott.
The film follows the King of Ithaca on his long return from the Trojan War, through the interference of gods and the monsters of the myth. At 173 minutes, with no franchise scaffolding and a source text roughly 2,700 years old, it passed $1.1 billion worldwide — making it the highest-grossing film of Christopher Nolan's career, ahead of both Oppenheimer and The Dark Knight Rises.
By its third weekend it was still adding around $51 million, holding its position even as Spider-Man took over the top spot.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day: a new opening record
Marvel's fourth Tom Holland Spider-Man film picked up the thread left dangling by No Way Home: Peter Parker fighting crime full-time in a world that no longer remembers who he is, watching his old friends move on without him.
Destin Daniel Cretton directed. Zendaya, Mark Ruffalo, Jon Bernthal, Florence Pugh, Sadie Sink and Jacob Batalon appear alongside Holland.
The numbers:
- ~$360 million domestic opening weekend — the largest in history, passing Avengers: Endgame's $357 million from 2019
- ~$932 million worldwide in its first three days
- ~$145 million in its second weekend — the third-biggest second weekend ever recorded
- $1.665 billion worldwide as of 10 August 2026
The weekend that broke the record
The two films overlapped on the weekend of 31 July. Combined, they produced roughly $430 million in North American ticket sales across three days — the biggest collective box office weekend ever recorded.
That framing matters more than either film's individual total. For several years the argument has been that audiences would no longer turn up for cinema in these numbers. July 2026 answered it twice in a fortnight, with two films that share almost nothing: a mythological epic and a superhero sequel, one from an auteur with final cut, one from a studio franchise.
Tom Holland was in both
The detail that turns a coincidence into a story: Tom Holland appears in The Odyssey and stars in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. In a two-week window he was on screen in the two highest-grossing films of the year, in a Nolan ensemble and as the lead of a $1.6 billion Marvel release.
What's worth watching for next
- Will The Odyssey reach $1.2 billion? It was still adding significant weekend business into August, unusual for a 173-minute film in its fourth weekend.
- Where does Spider-Man finish? With $1.665 billion by 10 August and continued IMAX play, No Way Home's $1.9 billion is in reach.
- Does the record hold? The $430 million weekend required two billion-dollar films opening a fortnight apart. That's a scheduling accident as much as a market signal.
Both films' full cast, crew and release details are on MovlyHub: The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day. To see where they're streaming in your country once they arrive, use our platform comparison tool.
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The OdysseyFAQ
When were The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day released?
The Odyssey opened on 15 July 2026 and Spider-Man: Brand New Day on 29 July 2026 — fourteen days apart.
Is The Odyssey Christopher Nolan's highest-grossing film?
Yes. The Odyssey passed $1.1 billion worldwide, overtaking Oppenheimer and The Dark Knight Rises to become Nolan's biggest film.
Did Spider-Man: Brand New Day break the opening weekend record?
Yes. It opened to roughly $360 million in North America, passing Avengers: Endgame's $357 million from 2019 to set a new all-time domestic opening weekend record, and took about $932 million worldwide in three days.
Who stars in The Odyssey?
Matt Damon plays Odysseus, alongside Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, Tom Holland, Himesh Patel, John Leguizamo and Travis Scott. Christopher Nolan directed for Universal Pictures and Syncopy.
Who directed Spider-Man: Brand New Day?
Destin Daniel Cretton. Tom Holland returns as Peter Parker, with Zendaya, Mark Ruffalo, Jon Bernthal, Florence Pugh, Sadie Sink and Jacob Batalon.
Was July 2026 really the biggest box office weekend ever?
The weekend of 31 July 2026 produced roughly $430 million in combined North American ticket sales, driven by Spider-Man: Brand New Day's record opening and The Odyssey's continued run. It is the largest collective weekend on record.