Spider-Man: Brand New Day has broken the domestic opening weekend box office record with $360 million, edging past Avengers: Endgame's $357 million, according to Variety. The Russos — Joe and Anthony, who directed Endgame — took to Instagram on August 5 to congratulate the team behind the new record-holder.

"The gauntlet has been passed," the brothers wrote, referencing Spider-Man: Brand New Day surpassing the benchmark Endgame set in 2019 (The Telegraph). The post, which carried an image of Spider-Man wearing victory rings resembling the Infinity Gauntlet, tagged director Destin Daniel Cretton, stars Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Jon Bernthal, Mark Ruffalo, Sadie Sink, Florence Pugh, Michael Keaton, and Marisa Tomei, along with producers Kevin Feige, Amy Pascal, Avi Arad, and Rachel O'Connor. The Instagram post drew 143,000 likes and 498 comments (Instagram).

Domestic, meaning the United States and Canada, is the headline. Only two films have ever cleared $300 million in their domestic debut weekends — these two. The gap between them is just $3 million. Spider-Man: Brand New Day began rolling out overseas two days before its domestic launch, building momentum across international markets before arriving in North America.

Endgame still holds the global opening record: $1.2 billion, a figure no other film has matched. Spider-Man: Brand New Day launched to $927 million globally — short of that mark but formidable nonetheless (Variety). Endgame also remains the second-highest-grossing film in history at $2.7 billion worldwide, and the fastest title to hit $1 billion globally, reaching it during its three-day opening weekend. Brand New Day crossed $1 billion in six days — the second-fastest ever.

There is a history here. When Endgame surpassed James Cameron's Titanic to become the second-biggest movie of all time after just two weekends in 2019, Cameron publicly congratulated the Russos. Now the Russos are on the other side of the exchange, applauding the film that broke their domestic record. Sony Pictures, which distributes the Spider-Man titles, confirmed Brand New Day as the franchise's latest installment at CinemaCon with a July 31 release date; the studio's site now lists the film as playing exclusively in theatres.

The Russos are not done with Marvel. Their next film, Avengers: Doomsday — the direct sequel to Endgame — is dated for December 18. Whatever that film earns on its opening weekend, it will be chasing a record that now belongs to Spider-Man.

What gives the gesture its weight is the gesture itself. A record-holder publicly celebrating the team that broke their mark is rare in any industry. Cameron did it in 2019. The Russos did it now. The gauntlet image — Spider-Man wearing Infinity-stone rings — lands as both joke and tribute, a nod to the shared universe that connects these films and the friendly rivalry that sits underneath the box-office numbers.