“Spider-Man: Brand New Day” made box office history in its first weekend in theaters. The Sony-released superhero movie became the second biggest North American opening ever with an astonishing $355 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday. It was just a few million shy of “Avengers: Endgame,” which debuted to $357 million in 2019.

Tom Holland’s run as the comic book webslinger has been a mighty one. “No Way Home,” his third standalone Spider-Man movie, made over $1.9 billion worldwide to become the eighth highest earning movie of all time, not accounting for inflation. It was also the first movie since the beginning of pandemic to cross the $1 billion mark.

But the triumph of “Brand New Day” also comes on the heels of another major movie featuring Holland and Zendaya: Christopher Nolan’s“The Odyssey,” which slid to second place in its third weekend in theaters with $51 million.

“Spider-Man: Brand New Day” started strong, with a record $168 million opening day from 4,487 theaters in the U.S. and Canada, besting “Avenger: Endgame’s” $157 million Friday. The studio predicted it would lead to a $325 million opening weekend, which would still have beaten the second-place record. It takes the place of “Spider-Man: No Way Home” which opened to $260 million in December 2021. In the realm of best opening weekends in North America, they’re followed by “Avengers: Infinity War” ($257 million in 2018) and “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” ($247 million in 2015).

Expectations were always high for “Brand New Day,” which was directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and cost a reported $225 million to produce, not including marketing expenses. But there were worries it wouldn’t attract the same level of mass audience enthusiasm as its predecessor which integrated past Peter Parker actors Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield into the mix. In reality, interest was higher than ever. “Brand New Day” also received strong reviews from critics and audiences. It currently has a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes; Audiences gave it an “A” CinemaScore and a five-star rating on PostTrak.

Ticket buyers were predominately male (about 61%) and many were on the younger side, with slightly more than half the audience under the age of 25, according to PostTrak exit polls. The biggest group was between the ages of 18 and 24, which made up 36% of the audience; 27% were between the ages of 25 and 34.

Cries about the death of the superhero movie have been looming since “Endgame” with more than a few high-profile flops in the years since, including several from the once-impenetrable Marvel Studios. Still, when they work, they really work, most notably with “No Way Home” and “Deadpool & Wolverine,” which made over $1.3 billion.

This year has also seen a resurgence of moviegoing from younger audiences, who have made hits out of movies like “Obsession,” “Backrooms” and “The Drama,” which also starred Zendaya.

Haelwyn Adams, 41, was pregnant when she claims doctors dismissed her stomach pain as period pain and IBS for years before she was diagnosed with terminal colon cancer

Haelwyn Adams was looking forward to the future when she went into hospital for her 20-week pregnancy scan – but she was discomforted by stomach pain that had been “tormenting” her for years.

The mum-to-be and partner Luke had endured a traumatic journey to becoming parents, complete with miscarriages.

They thought they had turned a corner when Haelwyn keeled over during her scan.

She wrote in the Times that her complaints about her pain were finally taken seriously after years of being ignored, when she was given the devastating diagnosis that she had stage four colon cancer with a rare mutation, which had already spread to her liver, reports the Mirror.

The doctors gave her a choice – terminate the pregnancy, allowing them to remove the tumour and start on chemotherapy straight away. Or continue with the pregnancy, with surgeons removing as much of the primary tumour as possible while protecting the foetus.

Haelwyn described it as “the easiest decision ever”. She added: “I’m 41 years old and I’m dying. I don’t know how long I’ve got – a week, a month, a year. Nobody is talking about a decade.”

She experienced pain each time her unborn daughter kicked. Ultimately, the baby was delivered at 32 weeks as she could scarcely breathe with the liver tumours pressing against her lower lung.

Their daughter, Magnolia Sunshine, was born before being instantly separated from her mother.

Haelwyn’s concerns about her stomach pain were ignored for years.

Doctors attributed her symptoms to severe period pain, IBS, stress, or, after she and now-husband Luke embarked on IVF, hormonal side-effects, as she appeared young, fit and healthy.

Following one of her miscarriages, Haelwyn pushed for a colonoscopy to investigate her pain. However, a doctor insisted she was “simply too young to have colon cancer” and instead opted for a sigmoidography examining only the lower bowel.

Her fears were not taken seriously until the fateful day of her 20-week scan.

Magnolia was separated from her mother after being born so Haelwyn could begin treatment.

She said: “From that moment, my days telescoped into a binary routine, by night, journeying into the natal intensive care unit to sit with my daughter, by day, journeying to the edge of my will to live. I had been willing to die for her, but living for her now seemed almost too hard.”

Advertisement

The new mother was briefly cancer free in January this year and she hoped the super-aggressive chemo had worked. However, it returned with a vengeance in March, with tumours in both sides of her liver, and her treatment is now focused on management rather than cure.

She and Luke wed in June, in case she died during an operation to reverse the stoma from the colostomy she underwent during pregnancy.

She added: “It’s hard marrying someone to make them a widower but Luke is the love of my life, my person, my team-mate – and I know how strong he is.”

Haelwyn and Luke created a JustGiving page, aiming to raise £150,000 to “protect my husband and little girl from the financial burden this disease leaves behind”. To make a donation, visit here.

Claire Sweeney, who plays Cassie Plummer, will be leaving the show to take on the role of Miss Hannigan in the UK tour of the musical Annie.

The emotional scenes are set to air tomorrow (Monday, August 3) after Cassie feels she has no option other than to leave the Cobbles.

Claire recently revealed that she was “in total denial” about leaving the soap after “having such a wonderful time”.

Why is Cassie Plummer leaving Coronation Street?

Cassie is set to leave the Cobbles following the arrival of Ross Wilkes, who she had an encounter with in the past.

Ross arrives trying to work his way back into his long-lost son Tyrone Dobb’s life.

After her bad experiences with Ross in the past, Cassie feels uncomfortable with his return.

An escalating feud pushes Cassie to take a job on a cruise ship, meaning she will leave Coronation Street.

In the emotional scene, she tells her grandchildren why she is moving away, with Fiz giving her some money and a photo of the family.

Cassie tries to warn Fiz that Ross cannot be trusted, but Tyrone overhears and tells her to leave.

On her exit, Claire said: “It’s funny because my very last scene—the one where I’m driving away—was actually filmed two or three weeks before I finished.

“Because of that, it didn’t feel like a true ending.

“For me, the final scene in the Dobbs house felt like the real goodbye because that’s where I started with Alan, Jenny, and the kids.

“I missed Maureen Lipman so much; I would have loved for her to have been there for that.

“Another moment that really stands out was the proposal scene with Simon Gregson.

“It was so brilliantly written—it managed to be funny, poignant, and everything in between.

“It really captured that full-circle moment, moving from when Cassie arrived as a ‘baddie’ to the redemption she eventually found.”

Claire has already said she would love to return to Coronation Street, as her character’s story has left the door open for a possible return.

What do you think about Cassie Plummer’s exit? Let us know in the comments.

A man has been arrested following the death of a Scottish woman whose body was found inside a suitcase in Athens.

The 26-year-old man, who Greek police said was a foreigner, was arrested after the death of Elisabeth-Jane Ross.

The 38-year-old’s body was discovered inside a suitcase by a homeless man in a derelict building in the Kypseli area of Athens on July 18.

She is believed to have died between five and seven days before she was found, though someone was reportedly using her mobile phone to send messages purporting to be from Ms Ross.

The Hellenic Police, Greece’s national force, were able to identify the victim using fingerprints.

Ms Ross, who is understood to be from Edinburgh, entered Greece on June 26 and was initially staying with friends in Piraeus.

She is then said to have gone to meet with American friends in another part of the Greek capital, but it is unclear if this ever happened.

The Hellenic Police said they analysed video footage to identify the suspect, who confessed on Thursday.

The 26-year-old man is believed to have put her body into a suitcase, taking it to the abandoned site where it was found.

In the following days, he is said to have used her bank card to withdraw money.

A replica pistol and a knife were found at the suspect’s home and police have filed a case against him for manslaughter, robbery and violation of weapons laws.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said earlier: “Our thoughts are with Elisabeth’s family during this difficult time.

“We are providing consular support and are in contact with the local authorities.”

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We are aware of the death of a Scottish woman in Athens and are liaising with authorities in Greece.

“Officers are providing support to her family in Scotland.”

Subscribe here to get the latest updates from The Independent

Lisa had initially stayed in the area of Keratsini, 5.9 miles (9.5km) west of central Athens, with Greek friends.

She had told them that on 15 July she would go to Kypseli, where her “American friends” or acquaintances were.

On Saturday Greek police said they were fast-tracking toxicology reports in order to ascertain the cause of her death, potentially “in the coming days”.

Test results can take anywhere from several weeks to a few months depending on the complexity of the case and the workload of forensic laboratories.

They were also looking to trace Lisa’s American friends, who they said were also staying in Kypseli.

First Minister John Swinney called it an “absolutely appalling case”.

A parish council is looking at ways it may be able to buy the site

A Cambridgeshire fishing lake is up for sale. Marsh Lane Lakes, known as the fishing lakes, in Hemingford Grey has been put for sale by owners Tarmac, according to Hemingford Grey Parish Council.

The parish council was notified of the sale by Huntingdonshire District Council on July 7. It was told that the owners had “given notice to dispose of the site”.

The council is looking into ways to purchase the lake. A parish council spokesperson said: “The parish council has triggered a full six-month period, running until January 7, 2027. During the moratorium, the owner cannot sell the land to anyone other than a qualifying community group.”

The council added that this moratorium does not commit the parish council to buying the site and doesn’t guarantee that a community group will buy the site. It also doesn’t fix a price or give the council first refusal of the site.

Once the moratorium ends, the owner is free to sell to anyone. The council added: “An interim steering group has been formed of residents and councillors to coordinate the campaign to save the lake for community use and the nature it safeguards.”

The council is looking for other people who may help, such as lawyers, bid writers, marketeers, web designers and more. Planning has also begun for public meetings and guided walks in September 2026.

Tarmac has been contacted for further information.

Two helicopters have crashed into each other while putting out wildfires west of Athens in Greece

Two firefighting helicopters have collided in mid-air while attempting to tackle wildfires west of Athens, Greece.

A search and rescue operation is underway to locate the crews in the ⁠Psatha area, Greece’s fire ⁠department said.

Each helicopter had two people on board.

“During the aerial firefighting operation, two BELL helicopters, leased by the fire department, with a crew of two people each, crashed in the wider area of Psatha, Attica,” the department said in a statement.

“The helicopters had taken off from the Elefsina military airport. The search and rescue operation is under way,” they added.

Parts of Greece have been hit particularly hard by the spate of wildfires that have gripped Europe this summer, with three firefighters tragically losing their lives battling blazes in Crete and the mainland earlier this week.

Nearly 500 Greek firefighters have been deployed to the region, assisted by personnel from France and Romania.

This is a Breaking News story. You’ll be more likely to see our stories when any big news breaks in future by simply by clicking this link . You can also join The Mirror’s WhatsApp Community or follow us on Google News , Flipboard , Apple News , TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads – or visit The Mirror homepage .

Isabelle Welsh suffered from weeks of abuse, including suffering 21 broken bones, before she collapsed at her home in Thornaby, Teesside, in September.

Alexandra Walker, 26, and her boyfriend Harrison Simpson, 22, were convicted of murder and child cruelty earlier this week following a trial at Teesside Crown Court.

The faces of child killers Alexandra Walker, left, and Harrison Simpson, right (Image: Newsquest/Cleveland Police)

Simpson was also convicted of sexually assaulting Isabelle, while her mother was cleared of that charge.

Cleveland Police has admitted that officers failed to execute a warrant issued by Teesside Magistrates’ Court for Simpson’s arrest in March 2024, The Sunday Times reported.

The warrant was issued after Simpson failed to attend court for breaching a non-molestation order, an injunction designed to protect victims of domestic abuse.

It is understood that the non-molestation order was put in place after reports that Simpson had harassed and threatened a woman.

Isabelle Rose Welsh (Image: Family handout)

The force said in a statement: “Multiple enquiries and arrest attempts were carried out to try to locate and arrest him, but these proved unsuccessful.”

It added: “We recognise the time Simpson had an outstanding arrest warrant is far from adequate.

“A review of this was immediately conducted upon his arrest for murder.

“This review, along with a determination to continually improve our processes around suspect management, has led to a number of recent changes, such as ongoing improved visibility across the force around outstanding warrants, a comprehensive data system which tracks all outstanding warrants, and stringent oversight including a governance group led by a superintendent.”

Ms Justice Norton said Isabelle’s murder was the final act in a sustained campaign of violence, which the pair then attempted to cover up.

Isabelle Welsh playing at home (Image: Cleveland Police)

She jailed them for life with minimum terms of 28 years and six months for Simpson and 22 years for Walker, both minus time spent on remand.

Prosecutor Paul Abrahams told the court: “This was a campaign of quite deliberate extreme violence.”

Tributes placed outside the Thornaby home of Isabelle Welsh (Image: TERRY BLACKBURN)

Ms Justice Norton said: “Any death is a tragedy. The death of a very young child at the hands of those who should have cared for, protected, and loved her – as she no doubt loved them – is particularly distressing for all involved.”

She said the toddler sustained an unsurvivable head injury in the 24 hours before she died in hospital.

The girl was sexually assaulted around the time the fatal blow was inflicted, the judge said.

A helicopter was captured on camera exploding into flames after it hit another while fighting a raging Greek wildfire.

The two helicopters were involved in efforts to tackle fires that were spreading in the Psatha region, on the Gulf of Corinth west of Athens.

Local news site in.gr said an injured crew member from one of the vehicles was in communication with officials.

A search is taking place in a ravine for the other, which does not appear to have a functioning radio.

Both helicopters had two people on board, a pilot and a passenger who coordinated with the operations centre, the site said.

On Friday, 300 people were evacuated by sea from Porto Germeno – a popular resort a short distance north from Psatha – due to wildfires.

Local resident Minas Tzortzanis told the PA news agency: ‘A pristine forest, a paradise, was surrendered to the hands of the fire.

‘There are no words to explain what has happened. Destruction. Total destruction.’

Weather conditions have played an additional role in complicating the firefighting efforts.

Climate crisis and civil protection minister Evangelos Tournas said: ‘The very strong to gale-force winds continue to create exceptionally difficult conditions.’

The turbulence has meant some aircraft are struggling to collect water and get close enough to the scene to drop it.

Today’s incident in Greece took place as several European countries face challenges from wildfires during an extremely hot and dry summer.

In France and Spain, around a third of a million people had to evacuate their homes due to rapidly spreading fires.

Others were forced to take shelter as ash and toxic smoke poisoned the sky, with enormous thunderstorms called pyrocumulonimbus clouds formed as a result.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

MORE: George and Amal Clooney forced to evacuate £6,000,000 home in France as wildfires spread

MORE: Final text of British woman found dead in suitcase ‘said she wanted to be alone’

MORE: Aerial images reveal just how close wildfire came to engulfing holiday park

By NOOR QURASHI, NEWS REPORTER

Published: 15:09 BST, 2 August 2026 | Updated: 15:21 BST, 2 August 2026

Two helicopters have crashed into each other while fighting wildfires in Greece.

Emergency services were called after the aircraft collided in the Psatha region, west of Athens.

The BELL helicopters were each carrying two passengers and had taken off from the Elefsina military airport.

Hundreds of firefighters were today battling wind-fuelled fires near Porto Germeno on the Gulf of Corinth, northwest of the capital.

Advertisement

Authorities said strong winds made the fire spread more quickly and made it unpredictable for firefighters.

‘The situation is extremely hard, especially today. We have really strong winds, gusts exceeding 73 kph (45 mph). The direction of the fire can’t be determined easily,’ doctor and firefighter Giorgos Doulas said.

The fire department’s deputy spokesman Yiannis Artopios told state TV ERT that the wind was so strong that firefighters on the scene ‘couldn’t even open their vehicle doors’.

Nearly 500 Greek firefighters have been deployed to the region, assisted by emergency crew from France and Romania. 

Advertisement

Two helicopters have crashed into each other while fighting wildfires in Greece

The aircraft are seen plummeting to the ground following the collision

The aircraft were both carrying two passengers and had taken off from the Elefsina military airport

Advertisement

Over 100 homes have been destroyed amid gale-force winds that have fueled flames in the area.

A military firing range is among the sites affected. 

 

This is a breaking news story. More to come

Advertisement