From a spectacular South African premiere at Ster-Kinekor Eastgate last week, to sold out cinemas across the country all weekend. The release of Spider-Man: Brand New Day has captured the imagination of cinema audiences and delivered a truly blockbuster weekend.
The film achieved the biggest opening weekend in South African cinema history, according to Sony Pictures South Africa. With a record R44+ million recorded at the box office across all cinema sites. Ster-Kinekor reported sold-out shows all weekend, with an almost record-breaking 90% occupancy for its screens nationally on Saturday.
With these outstanding figures, Spider-Man: Brand New Day has officially joined the ranks of cinema’s biggest opening weekend success stories. With an opening day performance of R9.65 million (box office). This surpasses the southern African opening day achieved by Avengers: Endgame in 2019, and a weekend box office of R35.9 million. Spider-Man: Brand New Day has delivered a spectacular start to its theatrical run. It has also surpassed previous Spider-Man franchise records in South Africa. And has more than doubled the opening weekend earnings of its highly successful predecessor.
On a global scale, the film brought in a staggering $927 million over the same weekend timeframe. This places it as the second-biggest global opening weekend of all time, trailing only Avengers: Endgame ($1.2 billion).
“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,” says Lynne Wylie, chief marketing officer of Ste-Kinekor Theatres.
“This trend follows closely on the record-breaking box office for the release of The Odyssey, shot entirely with IMAX Film Cameras. This title secured the biggest IMAX box-office opening weekend for Ster-Kinekor across our nine IMAX sites nationwide and also recorded numerous sold-out shows. The unprecedented turnout for both these films’ opening weekends places them alongside some of the biggest global properties in modern box-office history.
“And, in anticipation of the release of Avengers: Doomsday on 18 December, the re-release of Avengers: Endgame Encore (as it is titled) on 25 September, is already creating a buzz in the market. Featuring seven minutes of unreleased footage, aims to boost early ticket sales for the franchise’s upcoming December launch.”
This momentum is set to accelerate with a slew of major titles launching over the coming weeks and months in both IMAX and other Ster-Kinekor cinema formats, including:
- Street Fighter (Filmed For IMAX) – opening on 16 October 2026
- The Cat in the Hat – opening on 06 November 2026
- The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping (IMAX) – opening on 20 November 2026
- Dune: Chapter 3 (Filmed For IMAX) – opening on 18 December 2026
- Avengers: Doomsday – opening on 18 December 2026
- Jumanji: Open World– opening on 25 December 2026
- Children of Blood and Bone (Filmed For IMAX) – opening 15 January 2027
Book now for The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day on the Ster-Kinekor website at www.sterkinekor.com or download the SK App on your smartphone. Ster-Kinekor will operate extended trading hours on Monday 10 August for the public holiday. For news and updates, go to Facebook: Ster-Kinekor Theatres | follow Ster-Kinekor on Twitter: @Ster-Kinekor. For all queries, call Ticketline on 0861-Movies (668 437).
