Spider-Man, Dhurandhar 2, Chalamet’s opera row and more: 10 moments that shaped the year so far
Dubai: Cast your mind back to January. You were probably still writing 2025 on things, Border 2 was in every cinema, and the industry's biggest question was whether anyone would turn up at all. They did. In numbers nobody predicted. Two films rewrote their industries' record books, four months and a continent apart. Five films crossed a billion dollars, which last happened in 2019. There was a…
1. Spider-Man shattered box office records: "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" took North American audiences by storm, raking in $360 million over three days and $72 million from previews alone. The movie's opening was unprecedented, with $169.3 million on its Friday debut and $47 million on the following Monday. It achieved the fastest path to $400 million domestically in just four days and crossed the billion-dollar mark worldwide in a mere six days.
2. Dhurandhar 2 dominated Indian box office: Dhurandhar: The Revenge outperformed all other Hindi releases of the year, earning ₹1,149.16 crore net in India and generating ₹1,851 crore globally. It set the biggest global opening for a Hindi film with $81 million across five days, surpassing the $63 million generated by Jawan. The film became the highest-grossing Indian film ever released in Germany and remained in theaters for an impressive twelve weeks.
3. A record year for billion-dollar films: By the start of August, four films had already reached the $1 billion mark, with a fifth joining days later. This marked the best year for billion-dollar films since 2019, surpassing the nine films that achieved the milestone in 2019. The summer saw a staggering $3.579 billion in domestic grosses, prompting industry discussions about whether 2026 would become the first year since 2019 to surpass $10 billion in North American ticket sales.
4. The wedding of Vijay Deverakonda and Rashmika Mandanna: After eight years of speculation, the couple tied the knot on February 26 at a heritage resort in Udaipur. The private ceremony blended Telugu Vedic rituals with a Kodava ceremony honoring Rashmika's Coorg heritage. A strict no-phone policy ensured the event remained intimate, and the newlyweds shared their first photos together just a week later.
5. Christopher Nolan's IMAX triumph: "The Odyssey" soared to great heights thanks to its extensive IMAX distribution. The film's IMAX screenings accounted for 61% of its domestic gross, a staggering figure that necessitated Sony's decision to forgo IMAX screens during "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" screenings. In its first seventeen days, "The Odyssey" generated $395.5 million domestically and held the second spot behind "Spider-Man" during its third weekend.
Written by urgent.news from Gulf News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
