Spider-Man Leads the 2026 Box Office, With a Few Weeks Still to Go
Quick question: which movie has earned the most money in the United States and Canada so far this year? If you guessed Spider-Man, you're right, and it's not close.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day has taken in about $959 million in North America, according to The Numbers. Its opening weekend set an all-time record, at about $360 million.
The runner-up is Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey. One earlier tally put it at $616.5 million.
Here's the twist. The contest counts only money earned from January 1 through December 31, 2026, so anything after that doesn't matter.
Could anything catch up? Avengers: Doomsday opens December 18. Early trade projections floated a domestic opening of $250 million to $300 million, though those numbers deserve skepticism. Even a strong start would leave about two weeks to close a gap of roughly $300 million or more.
The case for a closer race is hype. Reports say Doomsday's advance ticket sales are running ahead of Spider-Man's pace, though advance sales are not final ticket sales.
The one thing to remember: opening records grab headlines, but the winner is whoever has the biggest total on the last day of the year.
Watch the weekend of December 18. If Doomsday opens near the top of those projections, the race gets more interesting. Either way, New Year's Eve is the real finish line.
