Spider-Man stays on top as The Odyssey makes box-office history

The summer box office continues to roar, with Spider-Man: Brand New Day holding firmly onto the No. 1 position for a fourth consecutive weekend while Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey adds another major milestone to its already extraordinary theatrical run.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day brought in an estimated $39 million across the US and Canada, pushing its domestic total beyond $854.9 million. The superhero blockbuster is now closing in on Avengers: Endgame and could soon become the second-highest-grossing domestic movie of all time, behind Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which currently sits at $936.7 million.

That is an extraordinary run for a film now four weeks into its theatrical release. Rather than suffering the kind of steep drop-off normally associated with major blockbusters, Spider-Man continues to pull audiences into cinemas in huge numbers.

And the battle at the top isn't simply about one superhero film. The wider theatrical market is enjoying a remarkably strong summer, with audiences continuing to turn out for everything from horror and family entertainment to major original films.

The Odyssey breaks another Nolan record

While Spider-Man remained No. 1 for the weekend, The Odyssey had perhaps the biggest reason to celebrate.

Christopher Nolan's epic added another $19.5 million domestically, taking its North American total to almost $539.1 million.

That figure means The Odyssey has now overtaken The Dark Knight, which previously held Nolan's domestic box-office record with $534.9 million, before adjusting for inflation.

Internationally, the film continues to perform even more strongly. Another $68 million from overseas markets pushed its worldwide total to approximately $1.4 billion.

For Nolan, it represents another extraordinary achievement and demonstrates that audiences are still willing to turn out in enormous numbers for ambitious, large-scale original cinema.

Horror arrives in second place

The weekend's biggest new release was Insidious: Out of the Further, which opened in second place with an estimated $25.3 million from 3,303 North American cinemas.

The latest entry in the long-running horror franchise also generated approximately $35 million internationally.

Its reported $18 million production budget makes it the most expensive film in the Insidious series, but the opening suggests there is still plenty of life in the franchise.

The horror audience continues to prove itself as one of the most dependable groups at the box office, particularly when established franchises return with another chapter.

Family audiences keep Paw Patrol in the Top 5

Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie remained a major player, earning an estimated $9.1 million during the weekend.

The family film has now established itself as one of the stronger performers among younger audiences, while The End of Oak Street was close behind with approximately $9 million.

That close battle demonstrates how competitive the middle of the box-office chart has become.

Jason Statham's Mutiny struggles to break through

Jason Statham's Mutiny opened in sixth place with around $7.5 million from 2,703 locations.

The action thriller faced an unusual complication before release when it was accidentally made available for free on Prime Video for several hours before being removed.

That mistake may have affected some potential theatrical business, although the film also faced a difficult critical reception.

For a movie designed primarily as a theatrical release, the incident highlights just how important the opening weekend can be — and how quickly an unexpected digital release can potentially interfere with that launch.

Tony continues its impressive run

One of the weekend's quieter success stories was Tony, the young Anthony Bourdain film.

The movie earned approximately $5 million from 1,652 cinemas, putting it comfortably inside the weekend's Top 10.

Its performance is particularly notable given that it is not competing with the huge franchise machinery behind Spider-Man, Insidious or other major studio releases.

A summer movie season to remember

The bigger story may be the strength of the theatrical market itself.

The North American summer box office has now generated approximately $4.4 billion, placing the season among the four highest-grossing summers ever recorded.

The overall 2026 box office has also passed the $7 billion mark, representing an increase of around 20.4% compared with 2025.

The recovery is particularly significant because Hollywood is still rebuilding the release pipeline following the disruption caused by the 2023 strikes.

With audiences returning in large numbers and a much broader selection of films available, cinemas are experiencing something that has been increasingly difficult to guarantee in the streaming era: real momentum.

Bong Games News verdict

The message from this weekend's figures is clear: the cinema business is having a moment.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day continues its extraordinary march towards the all-time domestic box-office record, while The Odyssey has cemented itself as Christopher Nolan's biggest domestic success yet.

But perhaps the most encouraging development is the variety.

Superheroes, horror, family animation, original action films and prestige cinema are all finding audiences. That suggests the theatrical experience isn't simply surviving — at least for now, audiences are actively choosing to come back.

And with Spider-Man still sitting comfortably at the top, the biggest question is no longer whether it will have a huge run.

It's just how high it can climb.