By the Update
TL;DR: Spider-Man Brand New Day and The Odyssey didn’t just dominate the box office – they reminded us why packed cinemas still matter. From superhero chaos to epic battles, the biggest win is seeing people come together again to laugh, scream and experience movies as a crowd.
There was a time, not too long ago, when people, (ok mainly Ted Sarandos) started writing the obituary for cinemas. The big screen was apparently finished. Streaming (Netflix, according to yer man Ted) had won. The sofa had defeated the cinema seat. Popcorn machines were destined to become museum exhibits next to DVD players and whatever happened to those weird little mini-discs everyone thought were the future. And then something funny happened. People ventured back outside.
They bought tickets. They queued up. They sat next to strangers to enjoy a shared communal experience. They laughed together, cried together and made that universal cinema noise where everyone collectively goes “OOOOOH” at the exact same moment.
The cinema is alive and kicking. And if you needed proof, look no further than the extraordinary success of Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Christopher Nolan’s masterpiece The Odyssey. These aren’t just movies. They’re events. Massive events. They are the kind of releases where your group chat suddenly becomes 90% people saying “have you seen it yet? why haven’t you seen it? What’s actually wrong with you?” and 10% people pretending they don’t care while desperately avoiding spoilers from over eager friends/future enemies desperately eager to exchange their ending explainers.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day has swung into cinemas and smashed all manner of records, including becoming one of the biggest openings ever recorded, with a reported $360 million domestic debut and a global performance that may push it into Top 10 all-time gross territory. The film has already grossed over $1 billion worldwide. Meanwhile, The Odyssey proved that audiences will still show up for something ambitious, even if it’s at a butt anesthetic three whole hours run time. Nolan’s epic opened with $264 million globally, marking his biggest worldwide opening and showing that audiences are still willing to experience cinema on a gigantic scale.
Spider-Man Brand New Day proves superhero cinema still has plenty of life left
Now, before anyone starts throwing virtual tomatoes at the screen, Tom Holland is not my favourite Spider-Man. There, I said it. For me, that honour belongs to Andrew Garfield, whose version of Peter Parker brought a level of emotional sensitivity that really captured the gawky, awkward and painfully human side of the character. But transformed into Spider-Man, his natural affability and charisma was the superior of the 3 actors. Yes, we are politely pretending the second movie did not happen because even Spider-Man fans have limits.
Tobey Maguire will always deserve respect for bringing Spider-Man into the modern blockbuster era, but for me there was always something slightly stiff about his version. Holland, though, has made the role his own. He brings incredible elasticity through his natural athleticism, both energy and humour with a dollop of vulnerability. Brand New Day reminds us why audiences keep returning to Peter Parker. Because underneath the webs, villains and impossible CGI battles, he is still just a guy trying to figure it all out man
The film works because it understands the magic formula. Spider-Man is not interesting because he can swing between buildings. Spider-Man is interesting because he can save New York and still worry about his relationships, old friendships and whether he has completely ruined his own life before Tuesday. The kid’s relatable is what we’re saying.
The introduction of the X-Men elements adds another layer of excitement, giving fans plenty to discuss afterwards. And that might be one of the best things about these big event movies: the conversation afterwards becomes part of the experience.
The Odyssey delivers epic scale, thunderous moments and classic Nolan brilliance
Then there is The Odyssey, a movie that basically looked at the phrase “go big or go home”, ignored it all the same and went frickin gargantuan. Tom Holland recently talked about landing somewhere he thought was on site and then having to walk for miles on a stretch of beach before even making it to the actual set! Nolan taking on Homer’s ancient epic was always going to be a cinematic event because it’s a ‘Nolan’, and the result is a film packed with massive set pieces.
The sacking of Troy scene alone feels designed for the cinema experience. The thunderous beat, the scale, the sense that history itself is shaking through the speakers – this is exactly the sort of thing that reminds you why watching a movie on a phone while half-scrolling on Instagram is not quite the same thing. And then there’s the final act, where everything starts clicking into place. The threads come together, the journey finally feels complete, and Nolan does what Nolan does best, makes audiences leave the cinema immediately wanting to discuss what they just witnessed.
The only complaint? Even at nearly three hours, it somehow felt like it moved too quickly. That sounds ridiculous. A three-hour film being accused of rushing is the kind of sentence that would confuse a time traveller from 1995. But there was so much world-building, mythology and spectacle that you could easily have spent another hour exploring this universe. Still, it works because it feels like an occasion. It feels made for the biggest screen possible. Check it out on IMAX or don’t check it out at all
Why packed cinemas matter more than any box office record
The biggest victory here is not that Spider-Man: Brand New Day broke records or that The Odyssey delivered huge numbers. The biggest victory is seeing cinemas full again. Because cinema has always been about more than the film itself.
It is about sitting beside strangers and sharing a moment. It is about hearing everyone laugh when Spider-Man and MJ have another perfectly timed awkward exchange (still pales into comparison to Garfield and Emma Stone’s pitter patter but hey that’s just my take!) It is about screaming during a jump scare in The Obsession. It is about the entire audience reacting when she comes through the TV in The Ring and everyone collectively realises they are absolutely not sleeping comfortably that night.
Those moments cannot be replicated at home. Streaming is convenient. It’s brilliant. It has changed entertainment forever. But watching something alone on a sofa is not the same as experiencing something with hundreds of other people.
A cinema audience is basically a temporary community. For two or three hours, everyone is connected by the same story. It is why we still go. It is why people still queue for the Nachos. It’s why someone will always whisper “this better be good” before the lights go down. Movies bring people together in a way few things can. So yes, we enjoyed Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Yes, we loved The Odyssey. Yes, Tom Holland is still not taking the Spider-Man crown in this household.
But the real headline is much bigger. People still love movies. People still love going out. And people still love sitting in a dark room with strangers, waiting for the screen to light up and everyone to say the same thing at once:
“Wow.”
