New Delhi, July 29 -- Brand New Day, Chinese moviegoers already have. Two days ahead of the film's July 31 North American release, the fourth chapter in Tom Holland's run as the web-slinger launched with exclusive IMAX screenings across China, and early tracking figures suggest the strategy is paying off at a scale Marvel hasn't seen from that market in years.

Box office analysts are projecting a $255 million opening weekend in China alone, a number that would mark the country's largest superhero debut in seven years. For a franchise that watched Chinese returns contract steadily across the back half of the Infinity Saga and into the Multiverse Saga, that figure carries more than commercial weight. It signals that the brand still command...