From ‘Spider-Man’ to ‘Brand New Day’: The evolution of opening weekend milestones
The first ‘Spider-Man’ ushered in a new era blockbusters in 2002. The franchise proved again this weekend that it still has the juice.
Popculturology is the founding publication of The Omnicosm. It was originally launched as a news site in 2012 before going dormant in 2015. It was resurrected as a newsletter in 2022. The weekly newsletter publishes on Friday and covers all aspects of pop culture: Movies, TV, trailers, box office news, Star Wars, Marvel, Saturday Night Live and more.
While the live-action movies struggle, Lucasfilm animation has never been better. PLUS: New trailers for ‘Focker-in-Law’ and ‘Hunger Games,’ Pixar’s leadership collapse, and ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ heads to NYC.
It took the animated sequel just two weekends to reach the milestone, as Ryan Gosling’s ‘Project Hail Mary’ sets its sights on $300M too.
When you’re an ‘Avatar’ sequel, $1.486B isn’t enough money. PLUS: The eye of Bezos protects ‘Rings of Power,’ ‘Punisher’ and ‘The Invite’ get trailers, and ‘Dune: Part Three’ is already selling out screenings.
The animated sequel grossed $190.1M over the five-day weekend. ‘Project Hail Mary’ soared past the $200 million mark in North America.
‘Dunesday’ was always a dumb idea. PLUS: The Mouse might also want to buy Fortnite, a new ‘Beef’ trailer, and how well does the ‘SNL’ cast know each other?
Milly Alcock and Eve Ridley (and Jason Momoa) are ready to scour the galaxy to save the super pet.
Thanks to moviegoers spending $54.5M on the Ryan Gosling adaptation, the film rockets to the 2026 box office’s top spot.
You gotta see Dwayne Johnson’s wig. PLUS: ‘Project Hail Mary’ takes a victory lap, Ryan Gosling teams up with The Daniels, and Stephen Colbert is writing a ‘Lord of the Rings’ movie.
With the exception of the pandemic-era ceremony, the Oscars have called the current venue home since 2002.
Ryan Gosling and a puppet alien blew away expectations and soared to one of the best debuts for a non-sequel/non-franchise film in over a decade with an $80.6M weekend.
Ryan Gosling and a puppet are my new favorite duo. PLUS: The first trailers for ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ and ‘Dune: Part Three,’ ‘Maul: Shadow Lord’ looks great, and is Conan O’Brien an Oscar host for life?
The Punisher and Bruce Banner have joined Peter Parker as he experiences a rebirth.
Join the hundreds of subscribers who already get the free Snackology, Popculturology and The Cold Open newsletters.