The general public has been craving another “Barbenheimer,” an internet sensation over two concurrent theater releases, “Barbie” (2023) and “Oppenheimer” (2023). What two pieces of media just happened to release around the same time, bringing groundbreaking success to those involved? Despite overlapping casts and back-to-back press tours, “Spidyssey”—the combination of “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” (2026) and “The Odyssey” (2026)—is not the mix that would appeal to everyone, even if it did not intend to only reach a niche audience.
Fear not, for a new mix is here. “Spidergrande” brings together “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” and Ariana Grande’s eighth studio album “petal,” both of which were released on July 31. “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” has been successful in theaters—earning around 2.3 billion worldwide as of Aug. 30, causing Sony to instantly jump at the opportunity of producing another Spider-Man movie with Tom Holland. Box office success has made it the third-highest grossing film of all time, after “Avengers: Endgame” (2019) and “Avatar” (2009). This film has greatly transcended leaps and bounds for Spider-Man himself, as Tom Holland is now the third highest grossing actor after Zoe Saldaña and Scarlett Johansson, pushing Chris Pratt to fourth.
Arguably, the appearance of Sadie Sink as Jean Gray in “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” has sparked people’s interest in the X-Men and the surrounding casting rumors. The biggest reveals seem to be Inde Navarrette as Rogue and Kit Connor as Scott Summers. While X-Men is by no means an underground film series (being part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe), the casting was definitively spotlighted by the release and booming popularity of “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.”
“petal,” on the other hand, is Grande’s seventh No. 1 Billboard album. The leading single for this album, “hate that i made you love me,” was noted as her tenth song to become No. 1 on Billboard. The week in which “petal” was released also happened to be her best week this decade with 295,000 equivalent album units. Grande also sold 96,000 vinyl copies—the most in a single week of her entire career. On Spotify, the album earned 62 million streams in its first 24 hours, marking her second-biggest debut on the app and just falling short of “thank u, next.”
Both works live to tell the tale of being overrated in the spotlight of their rising popularity, perhaps making this an even bigger reason that Spidergrande is the new Barbenheimer of 2026. “Barbie” was criticized for being a movie that discussed what could be called Feminism 101, while “Oppenheimer” was dissected for its length and niche subject matter. “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” is also facing some backlash, with criticism of MJ (Zendaya) and Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon) being simple side characters with little to no depth. Despite many individuals giving scathing remarks about Grande’s “petal” and comparing it to her past style—defined by her belting voice and high notes—its success seems to tell a different story.
Despite underlying criticism, Spidergrande has undeniably made its breakthrough in both the movie and music industries from the day of its twin debut.