The first box office reports for Spider-Man: Brand New Day are starting to arrive, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe movie has already managed to surpass Supergirl‘s entire box office run in a single day, which brings about a harsh truth for the new DC Universe. Tom Holland’s Spider-Man movies have always been box office hits. His lowest-performer would top other heroes’ franchises.
That would be 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming, which amassed $881 million worldwide. Then there is his biggest film so far, which is also one of the MCU’s best movies to date. 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home used the multiverse to put Holland, Tobey Maguire, and Andrew Garfield’s versions of Peter Parker together onscreen. The MCU movie nearly broke the $2 billion mark.
Having now been released in China, which No Way Home was not, and with projections growing every day, Spider-Man: Brand New Day might have a real shot at becoming the highest-grossing Spider-Man movie ever, grossing over $2 billion. Spider-Man: Brand New Day‘s cast helps that, featuring Jon Bernthal’s Punisher, Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk, Sadie Sink’s mysterious character, and plenty of surprises.
Friendly Neighborhood Assessment · MCU Era Tom Holland’s Spider-Man Trivia
🏠Homecoming2017
✈️Far From Home2019
🌌No Way Home2021
😈VillainsSinister…
🤖MCUAvengers
01
Before getting his own solo film, Tom Holland’s Peter Parker made his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut by being recruited by Tony Stark to help in a massive superhero conflict. In which MCU film did Holland first appear as Spider-Man?
✓ Correct! Tom Holland first appeared as Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War (2016), where Tony Stark visits Peter in Queens and recruits him for the airport battle against Team Cap. His quippy, starstruck portrayal instantly won over audiences.
✗ Web miss! The answer is Captain America: Civil War. Holland debuted in the 2016 film before Homecoming (2017). He was recruited by Tony Stark for the iconic airport fight scene, stealing Captain America’s shield with his webs in one of the film’s most memorable moments.
02
In Spider-Man: Homecoming, Peter faces a blue-collar salvage contractor who turned to arms dealing after being shut out of the Chitauri cleanup by Damage Control. Using an alien-tech wingsuit, he becomes one of Spider-Man’s most grounded villains. Who is he?
✓ Correct! Adrian Toomes, played brilliantly by Michael Keaton, is the Vulture — a working-class father who builds a criminal empire selling alien-derived weapons. The twist that he’s the father of Peter’s date Liz is one of the MCU’s best surprises.
✗ Web miss! The answer is The Vulture (Adrian Toomes). The Shocker and Tinkerer are his henchmen in the film, and Scorpion (Mac Gargan) only briefly appears. Toomes is the main antagonist who personally confronts Peter in the unforgettable car ride scene.
03
Tony Stark built Peter a high-tech suit loaded with features Peter didn’t even know about, including an AI assistant that helps him in combat, provides tactical analysis, and even gives dating advice. What name does Peter give this AI?
✓ Correct! Peter names his suit’s AI “Karen,” voiced by Jennifer Connelly. She assists him with web shooter modes, reconnaissance, and even his love life. Friday is Tony Stark’s AI, and E.D.I.T.H. is the Stark satellite system that appears in Far From Home.
✗ Web miss! The answer is Karen. Friday is Tony Stark’s personal AI, E.D.I.T.H. is the Stark defense satellite Peter inherits in Far From Home, and Jocasta is an AI from the comics. Karen, voiced by Jennifer Connelly, is Peter’s suit assistant throughout Homecoming.
04
In Spider-Man: Far From Home, Peter encounters a seemingly heroic figure who claims to be from an alternate Earth, battling elemental creatures across Europe. In reality, he’s a disgruntled former Stark Industries employee using advanced holographic drones. What is his real name?
✓ Correct! Quentin Beck, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, is Mysterio — a master of illusion who uses Stark Industries’ B.A.R.F. holographic technology and weaponized drones to fabricate the Elementals and pose as a hero. His final act of revenge shapes the entire third film.
✗ Web miss! The answer is Quentin Beck. William Ginter Riva is one of Beck’s team members, Aldrich Killian is the villain of Iron Man 3, and Justin Hammer is from Iron Man 2. Beck is Mysterio, the illusionist who manipulated Peter’s trust across Europe.
05
In one of the MCU’s most shocking mid-credits scenes, J. Jonah Jameson broadcasts doctored footage from Mysterio’s final moments that completely upends Peter Parker’s life. What does this broadcast reveal to the entire world?
✓ Correct! Mysterio’s doctored footage, broadcast by J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons reprising his iconic role), exposes Spider-Man’s identity as Peter Parker to the entire world. This revelation drives the entire plot of No Way Home as Peter desperately seeks to undo the damage.
✗ Web miss! The answer is that Spider-Man is Peter Parker. While the footage also frames Spider-Man for the London drone attack, the earth-shattering reveal is Peter’s unmasked identity being broadcast globally by The Daily Bugle’s J. Jonah Jameson.
06
With his identity exposed and his loved ones under threat, Peter seeks help from a powerful sorcerer to cast a spell that would make the world forget he is Spider-Man. Peter’s constant modifications to the spell cause it to fracture the multiverse. Which sorcerer casts this spell?
✓ Correct! Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) casts the memory-wiping spell at Peter’s request, but Peter keeps asking for exceptions — for MJ, Ned, May, and Happy to still remember him. These constant changes corrupt the spell and tear open the multiverse, pulling in villains from other Spider-Man universes.
✗ Web miss! The answer is Doctor Strange. While Wong is the Sorcerer Supreme and actually warns Strange against it, it is Stephen Strange who agrees to cast the spell. Wanda’s multiverse interference occurs in Multiverse of Madness, not here.
07
Throughout all three films, Peter’s loyal best friend serves as his “guy in the chair,” helping with tech support and keeping his secret. In No Way Home, this character even discovers he can open magical portals using a Sling Ring. Who is Peter’s best friend?
✓ Correct! Ned Leeds, played by Jacob Batalon, is Peter’s best friend and self-proclaimed “guy in the chair.” He discovers Peter’s secret identity in Homecoming, supports him across all three films, and in No Way Home he accidentally uses Doctor Strange’s Sling Ring to open portals to other Spider-Men.
✗ Web miss! The answer is Ned Leeds. Flash Thompson is Peter’s rival and bully who ironically idolizes Spider-Man. Harry Osborn is Peter’s friend in the Raimi and Webb films but doesn’t appear in Holland’s trilogy. Miles Morales is only hinted at. Ned is the irreplaceable “guy in the chair.”
08
At the emotional climax of No Way Home, Peter makes an enormous personal sacrifice to save the multiverse. Doctor Strange completes the spell, and when it takes effect, Peter is left completely alone. What does the final spell do?
✓ Correct! The final spell makes every person in every universe forget that Peter Parker exists. MJ, Ned, Happy, the Avengers — everyone. Peter visits MJ at the coffee shop afterward but decides not to re-introduce himself, choosing to protect them. He starts over completely alone, sewing his own suit in a small apartment.
✗ Web miss! The answer is that everyone forgets who Peter Parker is. The spell doesn’t erase Spider-Man — people still know the hero exists — but nobody remembers Peter Parker the person. This devastating sacrifice means MJ, Ned, and even Happy Hogan have no memory of him at all.
Assessment Complete Your Spider-Sense Rating
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Are you an Avenger — or just a friendly neighborhood bystander?
Spider-Man: Brand New Day marks the start of a new chapter for the MCU’s Peter Parker, and it is one of major box office success. That is very different from what James Gunn’s DCU experienced a month ago with the release of Milly Alcock’s Supergirl. That movie ended up underperforming. Now, both superhero movies connect in an unsurprising way, but still, it cements a harsh DC truth.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day Easily Swings By Supergirl’s Entire Box Office Run
According to a new report from Deadline, Spider-Man: Brand New Day‘s domestic opening day, including the previews, is projected to land somewhere between $167 million and $173 million. As such, no matter where the new MCU movie finishes in that range, Spider-Man: Brand New Day will have passed Supergirl‘s entire box office run. To reiterate, the new movie from Marvel and Sony only needed one day at the domestic box office to earn more than DC’s Supergirl racked up in its entire worldwide theatrical run. Supergirl flew out of theaters after grossing $125 million around the world.
DC’s Supergirl movie carried a reported budget of $170 million, which means that it needed to finish between $340 million and $425 million to break even. By failing to even get near the lower end of that projection, Supergirl should lose DC Studios hundreds of millions. As for Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which has a reported budget of $225 million, Deadline reports that it is projected to have a domestic opening weekend of over $330 million, with some sources believing that Spider-Man: Brand New Day could break Avengers: Endgame’s all-time domestic opening weekend record by going over the $357.1 million mark.
DC Needed To Have Built A Stronger DCU Foundation Before Supergirl
Milly Alcock as Supergirl looking down
There are many factors to take into account as to why Spider-Man: Brand New Day‘s domestic opening day outgrossed Supergirl‘s entire box office run. The most important is the harsh truth that DC should not have moved forward with a Supergirl movie at this time. Kara Zor-El is simply untested at the box office, with her live-action movie appearances before the DCU having been the Helen Slater Supergirl solo movie, which finished at $14.3 million, and Sasha Calle’s in the DCEU’s The Flash, which grossed $271.4 million. Both of those movies stand as major box office bombs.
In the DCU, where iconic characters like Batman and Wonder Woman, who fans are campaigning to debut soon, still need to be established, pushing a Supergirl solo movie into motion will never generate the same kind of momentum. Superman was a solid first movie for the DCU, but even that film did less at the box office than Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel. As such, the new DCU should have slowly built a strong foundation with its biggest characters before making bets like Supergirl. After all, it is hard to believe that Spider-Man: Brand New Day would have outgrossed a Batman movie’s entire run on its domestic opening day.
