Driving the news: Spider-Man: Brand New Day generated $309 million in worldwide media value from 165 brand partners. That beats the previous record of $288 million set by Spider-Man: Far From Home. Several brands didn't just sponsor the film. They paid to appear inside it.
By the numbers: - $72M in Thursday previews — a new record, topping Endgame's $60M - 165 promotional partners total - $309M in media value generated before a single ticket sold - U.S. cable subscribers fell from 88% of households in 2010 to below 50% in 2026 - Influencer marketing grew from $1.7B in 2015 to a projected $25.62B in 2026
Zoom in: Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip appears in Spider-Man's hands. Galaxy Z Fold and Galaxy Watch show up on other characters. Little Caesars gets a name drop. ASUS ROG computers fill multiple scenes. BMW vehicles cruise through the city. Tom Holland's own non-alcoholic beer brand, Bero, sits on bodega shelves — inside his own blockbuster.
Between the lines: Trademark law hasn't changed. Studios still need permission. What changed is that brands are now asking to be there.
The bottom line: The skip button killed the ad break. Streaming shattered the captive TV audience. The theatrical blockbuster is now one of the last guaranteed mass-attention moments left — no algorithm, no remote, no exit. Free enterprise found the gap and filled it. Brand New Day isn't an experiment. It's the new model.