This weekend is all about your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man! Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios are testing the limits of capacity with Spider-Man: Brand New Day, a film that box office analysts have projected will open to $800 million+ globally (with $300 million+ of that expected domestically). Previews have already started domestically and internationally, with records already set to be broken. However, if Spider-Man isn’t your jam, director Gregg Araki wants audiences to get in touch with their sexuality while Supergirl lands at home after a disappointing theatrical run.
What’s Opening In Theaters?
Spider-Man: Brand New Day continues Tom Holland’s exploits as the titular character following a three-film run that hit massive levels five years ago with Spider-Man: No Way Home, which grossed $1.9 billion at the global box office. Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and from a screenplay by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, Spider-Man: Brand New Day picks up with Peter Parker (Holland) anonymously protecting New York City as Spider-Man, with everyone having forgotten that his real-life persona exists. As he investigates a new threat, his superpowers undergo changes that could prove dangerous. The film also stars Zendaya, Sadie Sink, Jacob Batalon, Jon Bernthal, Florence Pugh, Tramell Tillman, Marisa Tomei, and Mark Ruffalo.
There is a ton of goodwill surrounding Spider-Man: Brand New Day. The film has been well received, with many calling it the best Spidey film of the Tom Holland era and the best one period since Spider-Man 2. It also helps that people love the character and they happen to really like the guy playing him. Holland is currently riding The Odyssey wave with his real-life lady love Zendaya, and they’ll be riding this one together as well. Just another reason why interest in the film is so high. The movie is currently certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes at 90 percent, and the audience score is even better at 98 percent. We’re looking at one of the biggest films of the year and the only one that will give Avengers: Doomsday a run for its money when we’re looking at the year-end 2026 box office. It’s Spider-Man’s world, and we’re just living in it.
In a bit of counterprogramming, we have the release of I Want Your Sex, an erotic comedy thriller from director Gregg Araki. Written by Karley Sciortino, I Want Your Sex combines a crime procedural with satirical BDSM comedy as Elliot (Cooper Hoffman) lands a job working for Erika Tracy (Olivia Wilde) as her sexual muse. The film also stars Mason Gooding, Chase Sui Wonders, Johnny Knoxville, Margaret Cho, Roxane Mesquida, Charli XCX, and Daveed Diggs.
I Want Your Sex continues a great year for Wilde, who is riding high from directing and co-starring in The Invite, which has garnered significant awards season buzz. Both The Invite & I Want Your Sex made a splash at the Sundance Film Festival, where both films earned instant praise. I Want Your Sex was acquired by Magnolia Pictures in a seven-figure deal for distribution rights, and the film is still potent with critics at 90 percent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. Araki is best known for controversial films that get attention for their frank boldness, like The Doom Generation and Nowhere, and for taking his time in between movies. He hasn’t released a film since 2014’s White Bird in a Blizzard, and I Want Your Sex is reportedly his most accessible film to date. It’s not getting to set the box office on fire, but it should get some steady word of mouth in some circles due to its subject matter.
What To Watch At Home
Warner Bros. and DC Studios hope that moviegoers will give Kara Zor-EL a proper chance at home after she didn’t quite hit super heights in June at the box office, while Neon has a coming-of-age supernatural horror film that is primed to find its audience now that it’s out on digital following garnering great reviews during its theatrical run.
Supergirl hits digital after the $170-$180 million budgeted film stalled at the box office at $72 million domestically and $125 million worldwide. Directed by Craig Gillespie and from a screenplay by Ana Nogueira, Supergirl follows Kara Zor-El (Milly Alcock) as she aimlessly travels through the galaxy and parties with her dog Krypto in celebration of her 23rd birthday until a quest to save her beloved pup puts her on her path to discover her true purpose. The film also stars Matthias Schoenaerts, Eve Ridley, David Krumholtz, Emily Beecham, David Corenswet, & Jason Momoa.
Supergirl didn’t deserve the run it received back in June, even though it’s not a game-changer for the comic book movie genre either. It’s perfectly entertaining, and Milly Alcock gives it her all as the titular character. Now that the film is out on digital, more opinions about its quality and why it failed are bound to pop up now, but maybe it will also lead to the movie earning some well-deserved defenders. Supergirl didn’t break the mold, but it didn’t set the genre back either. It’s a film that deserves another shot, and hopefully it will find that at home as the theatrical dust has settled.
Also hitting digital is Leviticus, a critically-acclaimed horror film that was picked up out of the Sundance Film Festival by Neon. Written and directed by Adrian Chiarella, Leviticus follows two teenagers who find themselves under siege by a violent supernatural entity that was conjured up by their religious community to take the form of what they desire the most, each other, in hopes of scaring them into staying apart. The film stars Joe Bird, Stacy Clausen, Jeremy Blewitt, Ewen Leslie, Davida McKenzie, Nicholas Hope, and Mia Wasikowska.
Leviticus earned raves out of the Sundance Film Festival and carried that to a decent box office run given its budget ($8.5 million on a $3.5 million production cost). The film currently stands certified fresh at 92 percent, with many calling it innovative and a standout not just for the horror genre, but for LGBTQ+ filmmaking. While it didn’t make the waves of horror hits like Obsession and Backrooms this summer, Leviticus feels like a horror movie that will grow in resonance now that it’s available to watch at home. Cult classic status is incoming for this one.
Check back next week when we keep you in the know about What To Watch!
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