Spider-Man beat the Avengers at the box office. “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” broke the “Avengers: Endgame” record for the biggest North American opening weekend with $360 million in ticket sales from theaters in the U.S. and Canada, Sony Pictures said Monday.
Sony on Sunday projected that “Spider-Man” would net an estimated $355 million in its first weekend playing in 4,487 theaters, just barely missing the 2019 “Avengers: Endgame” record of $357 million. But the fourth Spider-Man movie starring Tom Holland had a stronger than expected Sunday and ultimately came in ahead.
Tom Rothman, the chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group said in a statement, “records are made to be broken, but we will take great pride in this one, for as long as we hold it.”
Before “Avengers: Endgame,” no movie had opened over $300 million domestically. The previous record holders were “Avengers: Infinity War,” which launched with $257 million in 2018, and “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” ($247 million in 2015). In December 2021, during the pandemic, the third Holland Spider-Man movie “No Way Home,” earned a place on the list with a $260 million debut on its way to $1.9 billion globally.
The high-earning combination of “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” and “The Odyssey,” which share actors Holland, Zendaya and Jon Bernthal, also propelled a record weekend overall for movie theaters in the U.S. and Canada.
According to Rentrak, the domestic box office overall is up over 15% from last year with over $6.2 billion in ticket sales to date.
Zendaya poses for photographers upon arrival at the Spider-Man: Brand New Day premiere in London, England, Wednesday, July 29, 2026. (Photo by Alberto Pezzali/Invision/AP)
Tom Holland and Zendaya pose for photographers upon arrival at the Spider-Man: Brand New Day premiere in London, England, Wednesday, July 29, 2026. (Photo by Alberto Pezzali/Invision/AP)
Tom Holland poses for photographers upon arrival at the 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' premiere in London, England, Wednesday, July 29, 2026. (Photo by Alberto Pezzali/Invision/AP)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Monday that newly planned talks with Tehran are the “last chance” for Iran to forge a deal and avoid an escalation of U.S. strikes on the country.
Trump, speaking at the Oval Office, said he expects negotiations that will reopen the Strait of Hormuz and create a pathway for Iran to address United States’ concerns about it’s nuclear program will begin in the next day or two.
The Republican president says, “The first phase is the opening of the straits. The second phase will be the denuclearization.” Trump says that ”will take a little while.”
While Trump has reveled in the U.S. military decimating layers of Tehran’s leadership and devastating its air force and navy, Iran is betting it can outlast Trump as he faces diminished stockpiles of munitions and the difficulty of executing a war that is unpopular with the American electorate ahead of November’s midterm election.
Trump said he decided to hold off on ordering American forces to carry out new massive strikes against Iran at the urging of Gulf allies Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
He said that a plan was in place for U.S. forces to carry out “the biggest attack since World War II” on Sunday. But he decided to scrap the plan and give diplomacy more time to play out after hearing from key Gulf leaders — including Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — as well as at the request of unnamed Iranian officials.
Earlier Monday, Trump had raised doubts about the prospects of negotiations after the Iranian Foreign Ministry said Tehran announced it is not currently holding negotiations with the United States.
“Iranian Leadership is unbelievably duplicitous!” Trump fumed on his Truth Social platform.
Trump may still come to the conclusion that a massive escalation in the conflict with Iran is necessary.
But critics say his hesitation also might reflect an unspoken understanding inside the administration that U.S. military might alone may not be enough to compel Iran to back down and bring an end to a now monthslong war that Trump had earlier downplayed as a weekslong excursion.
“I think what we’re seeing here is a president who has an approach that’s just rather erratic,” said Sen. Mark Kelly, an Arizona Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, on CBS News' “Face the Nation.” “At this point, he's trying to get us back to February. And I think if he could — if he had a big reset button he could hit — he would certainly take that option.”
There have been several moments over the course of the conflict when Trump has demonstrated his proclivity for the bellicose only to back off at the last minute, while declaring his threats spurred progress:
— In early April, the United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire in an announcement that came less than two hours before a deadline Trump had set for Tehran to capitulate or face attacks on bridges and power plants — strikes he said would mean “a whole civilization will die.”
— After days of dire threats against Iran, Trump announced on May 18 he was holding off on a major planned military strike because “serious negotiations” were underway, crediting Gulf allies for persuading him to show restraint.
— Then in June, Trump threatened to hit Iran “VERY HARD” and seize Iran’s energy base on Kharg Island to "assume total control of their Oil and Gas Markets,” he wrote on social media, only to call off the strikes in a later post after claiming that peace negotiations had progressed with high-level Iranian leaders.
Left unsaid by the president was that such an endeavor would require U.S. troops on the ground in Iran — a risky proposition politically for a president who campaigned on avoiding foreign entanglements and criticized past administrations for getting bogged down in endless wars.
With this latest episode, Trump suggested that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman played a particularly important role in him turning away from escalating the fight.
The U.S. president spoke by phone with the de facto leader of the kingdom on Saturday before announcing he was halting strikes that he later boasted would have been one of the biggest U.S. operations since World War II.
The crown prince conveyed that an escalation in fighting could have a severe impact on the global economy if Tehran responded to a new U.S. bombardment by targeting some of the United States’ Gulf allies, according to a person briefed on the call who was not authorized to comment publicly and requested anonymity.
Saudi officials, the person added, have underscored in their engagements with the Trump administration that the kingdom is in a good position to defend itself against further potential Iranian strikes — as are fellow energy titans Qatar and the United Arab Emirates — but that Kuwait could be more vulnerable to attacks by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq.
Trump has insisted that November’s midterm elections aren't shaping his approach to the conflict that’s spurred unease across the global economy.
But it's certainly on the minds of his fellow Republicans.
About two-thirds of U.S. adults say the war with Iran, which began Feb. 28, has not been worthwhile, according to polling from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research published last week. That includes the vast majority of Democrats and independents, as well as about 37% of Republicans.
One of Trump's most outspoken allies on Capitol Hill suggested on Sunday the administration needs to modulate its approach on Iran.
Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy said on NBC's “Meet the Press” that the debate in Washington has lost perspective on the devastation the U.S. military has inflicted on Iran since the start of the war.
Still, the Republican lawmaker acknowledged that further escalating the conflict could lead to a further surge in already elevated energy prices and “a lot of inflation for the American people.”
Kennedy made the case that tightening sanctions and targeting Iran's nuclear program — rather than escalating the conflict — might be the best bet for the moment.
“They’re all hellish choices,” Kennedy said. “But for the moment I’d maintain the status quo.”
AP writers Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel and Josh Boak contributed reporting.
President Donald Trump speaks as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth listen during a cabinet meeting, Friday, July 31, 2026, at Camp David, the presidential retreat, near Thurmont, Md., Friday, July 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters onboard Air Force One while returning to the White House, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
President Donald Trump carries an umbrella as he exits Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, on return to Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
