Talk about an awkward family reunion at the box office.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey have found themselves locked in one of the summer's most fascinating theatrical showdowns - made all the more delicious by the fact that Tom Holland and Zendaya appear in both movies. But when it comes to the numbers in India, this is no photo finish: Spidey is swinging miles ahead.
According to figures cited by NDTV Profit, Spider-Man: Brand New Day has grossed approximately Rs 530.33 crore in India, compared with around Rs 208.29 crore for The Odyssey. That means Holland is technically competing against himself - but Peter Parker appears to be winning the argument rather decisively.
And the bragging rights are getting serious.
Brand New Day has reportedly become the highest-grossing Hollywood movie ever in India after passing Rs 500 crore, while The Odyssey has still managed a consolation prize worthy of Nolan: it is reportedly now his highest-grossing film in India, surpassing Oppenheimer, as well as the country's highest-grossing IMAX release.
The Marvel blockbuster came out swinging, opening with Rs 60.60 crore on its first day and finishing its first week with Rs 334.75 crore net. It added another Rs 108.65 crore during week two, pushing its India gross beyond the half-billion-rupee mark.
Nolan's epic, meanwhile, isn't exactly disappearing quietly. Nearly a month into its run, The Odyssey had reached Rs 175.27 crore net and Rs 208.29 crore gross in India, with the movie reportedly showing a relatively solid hold despite the arrival of its superhero rival.
Still, the optics are irresistible: Holland and Zendaya are starring in two enormous films at essentially the same time, and one of them is currently steamrolling the other.
For Marvel, the numbers suggest audiences were more than ready to return to Peter Parker. For Nolan, breaking his own records while battling one of Hollywood's most powerful franchises hardly qualifies as humiliation.
But if there is one actor who absolutely cannot lose this box-office war, it is Tom Holland.
