The 2025 State Fair of Texas ended on October 19 and the numbers are in: According to a release, this year's attendance was an estimated 2 million people.
The exact figure was 2,020,064 — representing a decline in attendance from the past four years. Attendance peaked in 2022, those post-pandemic times when everyone was thrilled and grateful for an outdoor event.
The number confirms observations by fairgoers that attendance was down, which many blamed for increased prices for 2025, with ticket prices for entry climbing from $19 to $29 (up from $15-$25 in 2024) for adults and $14 to $24 (up from $10-$18) for kids, as well as steep prices for food.
State Fair officials did some damage control midway through the fair, stating that attendance traditionally climbs during the latter half of the event.
A comparison to attendance figures for prior years confirms the decline:
2024: Nearly 2.4 million — 2,385,855
2023: More than 2.3 million — 2,341,499
2022: More than 2.5 million — 2,547,289
2021: More than 2.2 million — 2,202,689
2020: No fair
2019: More than 2.5 million — 2,514,637
2018: More than 2 million — 2,049,118
2017: More than 2.2 million — 2,250,433
The busiest day of 2025 was Saturday, October 11, the day of TX-OU, with more than 193,000 fairgoers that day. That included more than 148,300 fans in attendance for the game at the (newly renovated) Cotton Bowl Stadium.
A crowd of 22,938 attended the first-ever women’s soccer match featuring Dallas Trinity FC and Club América Femenil at the Cotton Bowl, the largest attendance for a women’s professional sporting event in Texas.
Ever since Spider-Man became part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the character’s stand-alone movies have been notable for maintaining their own vision despite having to service the larger MCU storyline. The emotionality of the series reached its high point in No Way Home by bringing back two former Spider-Mans - Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield - to assist Tom Holland in a multiversal storyline.
The heart displayed in that film is superseded by Spider-Man: Brand New Day, in which Peter Parker (Holland) is now alone in the world following the events of the previous film. For years, he has done his best to stay busy by stopping in-progress crimes and checking in with Detective Jean DeWolff (Liza Colón-Zayas), but the twin traumas of losing Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) and forcing girlfriend MJ (Zendaya) and best friend Ned (Jacob Batolon) to forget him still weigh heavily on him.
Almost simultaneously, Peter starts experiencing a change in his physiology and is challenged by a new threat who has a power he does not know how to defeat. As he struggles with both of those things, he asks for help from a variety of sources, including Professor Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), Frank Castle, aka The Punisher (Jon Bernthal), and - despite not knowing who he is - MJ and Ned, who are now roommates in New York following their college years at MIT.
Directed by Dustin Daniel Cretton and written by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers (who have written each of the Holland Spider-Man films), the movie has a near-perfect blend of comic book spectacle and small-scale intimacy. Spider-Man’s ability to swing through New York’s urban landscape with ease provides plenty of opportunities for great action sequences, but the character’s focus on keeping the streets safe and finding a way back to his friends makes the story still feel manageable.
This is aided by the decision to not go overboard with the MCU connections. Bruce Banner/Hulk and a member of the New Avengers show up, but in relatively small roles. The Punisher makes the leap from TV to the movies, and the interaction between him and Spider-Man feels organic. So too does the super-secret villain, whose impact is felt well before they ever show up on screen thanks to a power that is as mysterious as it is effective.
While the action is abundant in the film, the filmmakers lean on emotion much more than most other comic book movies. Peter’s journey back to a semblance of a normal life is well-earned, with his reconnection with MJ and Ned slow-walked in an admirably subtle way. And in the final act, when CGI battles typically take over, the interior lives of Peter and other characters play as much a role in what happens as anything they do physically.
Holland, who tends to take criticism for non-Spider-Man roles, remains the ideal actor for the role. His open-heartedness makes him relatable, his athleticism makes him believable, and he crushes the heavier moments. He and Zendaya, who are now married in real life, work tremendously well together, and Batalon is a fun third wheel. Other standouts include Bernthal, Colón-Zayas, Trammell Tillman, and Stranger Things’ Sadie Sink.
From beginning to end, Spider-Man: Brand New Day now owns the title as best movie in the current Spider-Man universe. By maintaining connections to past movies, solidly incorporating new characters, and pointing to the future without making it the whole story, it demonstrates a model for how comic book movies should be done.
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Spider-Man: Brand New Day opens in theaters on July 31.
