Zendaya praises how Tom Holland carries Spider-Man off-screen

Zendaya and Tom Holland are at the center of an extraordinary theatrical run. The married actors attended the London premiere of “Spider-Man: Brand New Day“, which went on to set a North American opening-weekend record.

In a separate Rotten Tomatoes interview, Zendaya praised the way Holland carries the responsibility of Spider-Man beyond the screen, particularly around young fans. The pair also co-starred in Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey“, and the success of both films helped produce the biggest overall domestic box-office weekend on record.

Zendaya praises Holland’s off-screen Spider-Man role

During a recent Rotten Tomatoes interview, Zendaya praised the way Holland handles being Spider-Man beyond the screen. She said young fans, especially children, connect deeply with the character and often see Holland himself as Spider-Man. She added that he carries that responsibility with grace and genuinely cares about what the character means to other people.

Holland has separately described working alongside Zendaya as a “saving grace.” In a 2024 interview, he explained that their familiarity allows them to exchange a simple glance on set when they receive creative notes they want to discuss privately later.

Their professional partnership stretches back nearly a decade, beginning when they met during auditions for “Spider-Man: Homecoming.” Their long familiarity has become part of how both actors describe working together.

Spider-Man smashes records at the box office

“Spider-Man: Brand New Day” finished its opening weekend with $360 million in the U.S. and Canada, setting a new domestic opening-weekend record in unadjusted dollars. It surpassed the $357 million opening of “Avengers: Endgame“. Worldwide, “Brand New Day” debuted with $932 million, the second-largest global opening ever recorded.

The initially reported figures of $355 million domestically and $927 million worldwide were Sunday estimates. Stronger-than-expected Sunday ticket sales pushed the final totals higher. Adjusted for inflation, “Avengers: Endgame” still holds the domestic opening record.

“Brand New Day” achieved its record-breaking North American opening without a broad domestic IMAX release because “The Odyssey” still held its exclusive IMAX window. “Brand New Day” began playing in select North American IMAX theaters on August 6.

The Odyssey adds fuel to the fire

Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey“, which also stars Holland and Zendaya, earned about $51 million during its third North American weekend and had already passed $900 million worldwide. By early August, the film had grossed more than $911 million globally.

The unusual overlap gave Holland and Zendaya 2 major theatrical hits simultaneously. “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” and “The Odyssey” together became the centerpiece of a historic weekend for movie theaters.

The overall North American box office across all films reached roughly $430 million that weekend, setting a new industry record. That $430 million figure was not generated by the 2 Holland-Zendaya films alone, although they accounted for the overwhelming majority of the total.

Two stars dominate a historic box office weekend

“Spider-Man: Brand New Day” and “The Odyssey” generated roughly $411 million of the approximately $430 million earned across the North American box office that weekend. That means the 2 movies accounted for more than 95% of the market’s ticket revenue.

Holland and Zendaya appear in both films. “Brand New Day” opened to $932 million worldwide and crossed $1 billion globally within 6 days. The latest available totals show “Brand New Day” at about $1.67 billion worldwide and “The Odyssey” at about $1.1 billion.

The results give both actors roles in 2 billion-dollar theatrical releases in 2026. Those figures represent movie ticket revenue, not personal earnings for Holland or Zendaya.

Holland brings Spider-Man skills into a New York classroom

Holland visited P.S. 37 in New York City for the web series “Celebrity Substitute.” During the appearance, he stepped into an elementary school classroom and taught young students about movie stunt work.

The episode also gave students a chance to ask Holland personal questions, including whether he was married to Zendaya. In each episode of the series, Amazon helps clear items from the participating classroom’s Amazon Classroom List.

The appearance offered a lighter example of Holland interacting with young fans, a theme that overlaps with Zendaya’s separate praise for the way he handles Spider-Man’s influence on children.

Fun fact: Tom Holland spent 2 years preparing for “Billy Elliot the Musical“, including training in ballet, tap, and acrobatics, before making his stage debut in the production

Nearly 10 years of working together

Holland and Zendaya have worked together for nearly 10 years, having met while making “Spider-Man: Homecoming“. Their romantic relationship became public in 2021, several years after their first collaboration.

Holland has described acting alongside Zendaya as a “saving grace.” He said their familiarity allows them to exchange a glance when a director gives a note they may want to discuss privately later.

Zendaya has similarly described working with Holland as feeling natural and comfortable, saying she feels safe acting alongside someone she knows and trusts so well. Their long-running collaboration now spans both the Spider-Man franchise and “The Odyssey“.

Several factors fuel the record-breaking box office

Industry analysts have pointed to several factors behind “Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s” record-breaking debut rather than a single marketing strategy. Enact Insight CEO Greg Durkin said the film’s themes of loneliness, isolation, and human connection resonated particularly strongly with Gen Z moviegoers.

Rentrak’s Paul Dergarabedian also credited “The Odyssey” with providing an unusually strong lead-in for “Brand New Day“. Millions of moviegoers who had recently visited theaters for Christopher Nolan’s film were exposed to marketing for the new Spider-Man release.

The combination of franchise strength, strong audience interest, and momentum across the wider summer box office helped create the biggest overall domestic moviegoing weekend on record.

What comes next for the record-breaking duo

Zendaya’s next major theatrical release is “Dune: Part Three,” which is scheduled for December 18, 2026. The Warner Bros. film will open the same day as Marvel Studios’ “Avengers: Doomsday,” setting up a major holiday box-office matchup.

Tom Holland is not currently included on Disney’s official cast list for “Avengers: Doomsday,” so his participation is not officially confirmed. Zendaya, meanwhile, is officially listed among the stars of “Dune: Part Three.”

After starring together in 2 billion-dollar films this summer, both actors enter the rest of 2026 with substantial box-office momentum.

Little-known fact: In 2022, Zendaya became the youngest performer to win the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series twice.

TL;DR

• “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” finished its opening weekend with $932 million worldwide. Zendaya praised Holland’s off-screen responsibility as Spider-Man during a separate Rotten Tomatoes interview. “Brand New Day” and “The Odyssey” helped produce the biggest overall North American box-office weekend on record. Holland surprised students at P.S. 37 in New York City on “Celebrity Substitute” and taught them about movie stunt work. Industry analysts cited the film’s themes, franchise appeal and the theatrical lead-in from “The Odyssey” among the factors behind the record weekend.

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This article was made with AI assistance and human editing.

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