The early test screenings for Spider-Man: Brand New Day have started to surface online, and the chatter pouring out of those rooms all points in one direction. Director Destin Daniel Cretton has been quietly showing the film to small audiences in the months leading up to its July 31 release. The highly anticipated film is the first MCU Spider-Man movie since Spider-Man: No Way Home ended Peter Parker's story on a brutal cliffhanger. Tom Holland returns as the web-slinger, picking up four years after Doctor Strange's spell wiped him from the memory of everyone he loves.
Word from those early Spider-Man: Brand New Day test screenings is now circulating across multiple sources, and the reaction is consistent. People are reportedly walking out of these screenings impressed, with some descriptions going as far as calling the response better than Sony and Marvel were hoping for.
On a recent episode of The John Campea Show, longtime entertainment commentator John Campea shared what he had heard from a source about the early reactions, and the language used was strong. According to Campea, "the reactions have been better" than what the studio had hoped for:
"I was talking to somebody a couple of days ago who let me know that there had been a couple of test screenings, and the word they gave me was that the reactions have been better than they hoped, and ‘beyond excellent’ has been the response."
Campea's comments are very significant since studios run test screenings to spot problems, not to chase compliments, so a description as confident as "beyond excellent" suggests the film is connecting on more than just the basics, which is extremely important.
The praise did not stop with Campea. Scooper MyTimeToShineHello, who has a track record of breaking Marvel and DC casting and plot details ahead of official announcements, weighed in with their own take on the screenings, and he also confirmed the same thing:
"There was a recent test screening for Spider-Man: Brand New Day and the reaction was overwhelmingly positive."
Cryptic HD Quality, another insider who often shares credible behind-the-scenes info on Marvel projects, added a smaller but still telling detail. They confirmed they had only heard about a single screening, and that it was an internal one rather than a public preview. Even with the limited audience, the takeaway was the same:
"I only heard about one and it was internal. The people who saw it were very pleased."
Why a Positive Test Screening Is Important for Spider-Man: Brand New Day
Marvel needs Spider-Man: Brand New Day to resonate well with audiences. The MCU has had a rough stretch of mixed-reception releases, and Spider-Man has historically been the safety net the studio leans on when the wider slate wobbles. Spider-Man: No Way Home pulled in nearly $2 billion at the global box office, and Sony and Marvel are clearly hoping this fourth Holland-led film can deliver that same level of cultural moment and win back the fans.
Brand New Day is also taking a creative direction that previous MCU Spider-Man films have not taken. Peter Parker is older, isolated, and learning how to be Spider-Man without the support system present in the first three films. The film will explore Peter Parker’s mutation in a way the MCU hasn’t done before, making a positive audience response all the more essential.
Test screening reactions should always be taken with caution, though. The audiences are small, often hand-picked, and not representative of the general public who will eventually buy tickets. Even so, the test screenings receiving positive reactions are a good sign.
Geraldo Amartey is a writer at The Direct. He joined the team in 2025, bringing with him four years of experience covering entertainment news, pop culture, and fan-favorite franchises for sites like YEN, Briefly and Tuko.
