Photo Credit: Sony Pictures Releasing
Spider-Man: Brand New Day‘s early theatrical release opened to a staggering reception from critics. The film received great scores on Rotten Tomatoes. Fans are hoping for the film to break Holland’s previous installment’s record scores. However, that would be disappointing for some fans despite positive reviews.
At the time of publishing this piece, the film holds an 89% score on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 119 reviews. While that is still considered “Fresh” on the aggregator site and reflects generally positive reviews, it also gives the film an unexpected distinction. It is now the lowest-rated Spider-Man movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is Tom Holland‘s fourth solo web-slinging adventure in the MCU. While 89% seems impressive, his previous films hold higher scores on the platform. His top movie, Spider-Man: No Way Home, which erased Peter Parker’s memory of existence in the world, holds a 93% score. This is followed by Spider-Man: Homecoming, which featured Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man, with a 92% score. Rounding up the top three is Spider-Man: Far From Home, which takes place after the events of Avengers: Endgame has a 91% score.
It’s still early to decide to rank it below, as more reviews are expected to change that number after its theatrical release.
What are critics specifically praising about Spider-Man: Brand New Day?
The difference between Holland’s entire slate of Spider-Man movies is small; the critics have reacted positively to the upcoming movie. Many critics have highlighted Holland’s performance as one of the film’s biggest strengths, praising his more mature and emotional portrayal of Peter Parker after four movies.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is an ambitious, mature take on Peter Parker, finally trusting him to (mostly) stand on his own. Cretton crafts excellent scenes of Spidey’s powers, and the emotional beats rank among the MCU’s best. Easily Tom Holland’s most varied, confident MCU work. pic.twitter.com/FQDCM9sXcR— Brandon Lewis (@blewis1103) July 28, 2026
Reviewers have also applauded its grounded story and praised Destin’s work behind the camera. Several mentioned that the movie is among the best-directed Spider-Man films since Sam Raimi’s original trilogy.
SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY is a much more cerebral followup than the crowd pleasing No Way Home. It’s Tom Holland’s best performance as Peter Parker and the best Spider-Man movie since Raimi’s SPIDER-MAN 2. Also the costume finally looks incredible #spidermanbrandnewday— Mike Ryan (@mikeryan) July 28, 2026
The cast believes the movie marks a fresh start. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Jacob Batalon said, ” It’s a Brand New Day after all.” Zendaya added with a smile, “Whether or not the day has started.”
