Russos Congratulate Spider-Man Team on Record $360M Opening
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- Joe and Anthony Russo congratulated the Spider-Man: Brand New Day team via Instagram after its $360M U.S. opening weekend, naming director Destin Daniel Cretton, stars Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Jon Bernthal, Mark Ruffalo, Sadie Sink, Florence Pugh, Michael Mando, and Marisa Tomei, and producers Kevin Feige, Amy Pascal, Avi Arad, and Rachel O'Connor.
- Spider-Man: Brand New Day topped the Russos' own Avengers: Endgame record of $357.1M from April 2019, prompting the Russos to write 'The gauntlet has been passed…' in their post.
- Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro also congratulated Sony and Marvel Studios at Disney's quarterly earnings call, saying the opening 'bodes well' for the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday.
- Avengers: Doomsday premieres December 18 with a returning ensemble including Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Anthony Mackie (Captain America), Vanessa Kirby (Susan Storm), Pedro Pascal (Mister Fantastic), Paul Rudd (Ant-Man), Florence Pugh (Yelena), and Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes).
- The Russos are directly involved with Avengers: Doomsday, making their congratulation a handoff from one generation of Marvel filmmaking to the next.
Why it matters: The Russos' public congratulation is a rare symbolic handoff: the directors whose 2019 film held the U.S. opening record for six years are now welcoming its successor. Disney's CEO tying the Spider-Man result to Avengers: Doomsday (December 18) signals the studio is counting on cross-film momentum to anchor its 2025 slate.
