Sony’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day continued its dominant box office run over the Labor Day holiday weekend, securing the top spot with $23.5 million from 3,520 locations. Universal’s The Odyssey held onto second place with $17.3 million across 2,312 theaters, while Falling Forward Films’ original comedy Coyote vs. Acme brought in $15.87 million from 3,727 locations. Paramount’s new release By Any Means opened in fourth place with $9.3 million, and Sony’s Insidious: Out of the Further rounded out the top five with an $8.1 million weekend total.
Weekend Box Office Summary
| Rank | Title | Weekend Total |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spider-Man: Brand New Day | $23,500,000 |
| 2 | The Odyssey | $17,300,000 |
| 3 | Coyote vs. Acme | $15,870,543 |
| 4 | By Any Means | $9,300,000 |
| 5 | Insidious: Out of the Further | $8,100,000 |
| 6 | Cars: 20th Anniversary | $7,800,000 |
| 7 | Buddy | $7,305,343 |
| 8 | PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie | $4,450,000 |
| 9 | End of Oak Street, The | $4,000,000 |
| 10 | Dog Stars, The | $3,500,000 |
| 11 | Akira (1988) (re) | $3,175,000 |
| 12 | Fall 2: Deadpoint | $2,870,000 |
A Record-Breaking Summer Box Office
The Labor Day weekend marks the formal conclusion of the summer movie season, capping off one of the strongest box office runs in industry history. Domestic ticket sales between May 1 and Labor Day approached $4.76 billion, making it the highest-grossing summer season on record in raw dollars. It barely surpassed the previous $4.755 billion record set in 2013, while posting a massive 26% increase compared to summer 2025.
The season was anchored by massive tentpoles like Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which surpassed $923 million domestically and $2.3 billion globally, alongside Christopher Nolan’s epic The Odyssey. Equally significant was the emergence of original, viral titles—such as A24’s Backrooms and Focus Features’ horror phenomenon Obsession—which relied heavily on Gen-Z turnout and strong word-of-mouth rather than traditional franchise appeal.
Looking Forward to Fall and Full-Year Prospects
With total domestic revenues for 2026 reaching $7 billion, industry analysts predict full-year earnings could cross $10 billion for the first time since 2019. While total theatrical attendance remains below pre-pandemic levels due to fewer total wide releases, the summer’s diverse mix of superhero blockbusters, auteur epics, and low-budget breakout hits demonstrates a strong appetite for the theatrical experience moving into the autumn slate.
