Thinus Ferreira
Last weekend Spider-Man: Brand New Day marked a new South African opening weekend box office record of over R44 million.
The Marvel and Sony Pictures Entertainment film obliterated the Southern Africa opening weekend box office record of Avengers: Endgame set in 2019, of R34 million, by surpassing it with a total weekend haul of over R10 million above the 2019 record.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day earned R9.65 million on its opening day, and added another haul of R35.9 million in ticket sales over the course of Saturday and Sunday.
The webslinger smashed theatre records across the country, and local distributor Filmfinity and cinema chains like Ster-Kinekor and Nu Metro were dazzled by a staggering 90% nationwide screen occupancy on Saturday.
The box office achievement marks the biggest opening weekend ever for a Sony Pictures release in Southern Africa.
Since opening last weekend, more than 336 000 moviegoers have experienced Spider-Man: Brand New Day on the big screen across South Africa, with the film playing across 82 cinema locations on more than 200 screens nationwide.
The film's phenomenal local success mirrors its outstanding international performance, where Spider-Man: Brand New Day has already surpassed $1.052 billion at the global box office, becoming the second-fastest film in history to reach the milestone.
As a smart marketing exercise, in the weeks leading up to release, Filmfinity's nationwide Spider-Man costume tour helped to build excitement, with fans of all ages turning out in large numbers to meet the iconic superhero.
According to Filmfinity, "Seeing audiences of every age and demographic return to cinemas in such significant numbers is an enormously encouraging sign for the exhibition industry, bringing renewed optimism and supporting the long-term sustainability of the local theatrical landscape".
AB Moosa, Cinecentre CEO, says "The audience response has been phenomenal, all the initiatives worked brilliantly" and that Spidey has "helped encourage existing audiences and bring new audiences into cinemas, creating momentum for continued growth in the theatrical experience".
Lynne Wylie, Ster-Kinekor Theatres chief marketing officer, says "Following a spectacular South African premiere held at Eastgate to sold-out cinemas across the country all weekend, Spider-Man: Brand New Day has captured the imagination of our audience and delivered a truly blockbuster weekend".
"The impressive Spider-Man: Brand New Day opening weekend figures are a clear demonstration that South Africans are returning to watch blockbuster films in cinema in meaningful numbers."
"Audiences are once again embracing the unique experience of watching the world's biggest titles on the big screen, and we're thrilled to see that momentum building. This trend follows closely on the record-breaking box office for the release of The Odyssey."
Nu Metro Cinemas says it's been "truly overwhelmed by the impressive opening weekend results of Spider-Man: Brand New Day. We are grateful to our loyal customers for coming out in numbers to experience this movie on our big screens".
"Nu Metro is proud to celebrate the exceptional customer support and engagement surrounding the release of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which delivered strong audience enthusiasm and market share performance for our circuit".
Thobashan Govindarajulu, Filmfinity head of sales and marketing, tells TVwithThinus that the sweeping global success of Spider-Man: Brand New Day "cannot be attributed to a single standalone
trigger but rather a perfect storm of key factors that ignited a massive
wave
of local anticipation in South Africa as well".
"Fuelled by
overwhelmingly positive international sentiment, an exceptionally
popular and likeable cast and great storytelling, the film transcended
standard cinema boundaries."
"For South African audiences, it was
this combination of universal charm and an unmissable, big-screen
theatrical experience that converted immense pre-release hype into a
historic box-office triumph."
Building to the release of Avengers: Doomsday on 18 December, momentum at the box office is set to accelerate into South Africa's spring and the summer months.
Upcoming releases include Street Fighter (16 October), The Cat in the Hat (6 November), The Hunger Games: Sunrise of the Reaping (20 November), Dune: Chapter 3 (18 December) and Jumanji: Open World (25 December).
