Sony paid BMW to run ads for the superhero film “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” on every display of every BMW made after 2020.
BMW owners were surprised to see the full-screen ad pop-up when they turned on their cars over the weekend. Many took to social media to express their displeasure over the forced ads.
They complain that they can’t drive away until the ad is finished.
Great! But now I'm late, can the ad be faster???
— LW. | Win (@latewinners) August 4, 2026
X user @pitdesi wrote: “When you start a BMW, it shows you an ad for Spider Man. Really cheapens BMW imo.” He clarified that every car owner gets the popup every time they start their car, but they don’t have to watch the ad which takes over the entire screen.
BMW Cars now have a Spider-Man advertisement when you start up your car ??
?: @bmwcanada pic.twitter.com/Y00IgFZJLm
— Complex (@Complex) August 4, 2026
@joshelman wrote: “Of all the brands I thought might bombard with in car ads on screen right when you start the engine? I had BMW pretty dang low on my list. This seems the opposite of luxury and performance.”
Luxury brands used to sell exclusivity. Now they’re selling your dashboard space to Hollywood. If I pay $70k for a BMW, the last thing I want is a forced Spider-Man commercial every time I start the car. This is the opposite of premium.
— The Ojol Guy (@julian29135) August 4, 2026
Imagine being in a hurry and you have to watch this
— Ozoon (@Ozoon_CA) August 4, 2026
Seems like they shouldn't be able to pipe ads into a car you own call me crazy
— Kevin ? Plant Daddy (@KevinEspiritu) August 3, 2026
Spider-Man: Brand New Day, starring Tom Holland and his wife Zendaya, broke all box office records over the weekend.
The movie broke the debut record of $360 million, the largest opening in domestic box office history. Spider-Man: Brand New Day came in second for biggest worldwide opening of $932 million, behind Avengers: Endgame‘s $1.22B
Other records broken by Spider-Man: Brand New Day include:
Biggest U.S. previews of all time at $72M
Biggest Friday (including previews) at domestic box office at $169.8M
Biggest domestic and global opening for Zendaya
Biggest domestic opening for Tom Holland
Biggest opening weekend in U.S. admissions in post-Covid era at 24M
Biggest global weekend for AMC Theaters
Biggest Dolby Cinema opening weekend domestically at $11M+, and many more.