A record-breaking new day for Spidey

The film grossed $168 million from 4,487 North American cinemas on Friday, beating the previous record of $157 million set by 2019's Avengers: Endgame.

Why Spider-Man is breaking records

The film marks Tom Holland's return as Peter Parker for a fourth standalone outing, picking up after Spider-Man: No Way Home with everyone, including his closest friends, having forgotten who he is.

Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, Brand New Day reunites Holland with real life wife Zendaya as MJ and brings in Jon Bernthal's Punisher for his first MCU feature film appearance, alongside Stranger Things star Sadie Sink in a role kept firmly under wraps.

With fans queued outside cinemas, the reception has matched the numbers.

Critics have largely welcomed the decision to scale back the multiverse chaos of No Way Home in favour of a more personal, character-driven story. With a record opening day banked, attention now turns to whether the web-slinger can spin one of the biggest weekends the box office has seen this year.