Development of a live-action Spider-Man film began in 1975, but stalled for nearly 25 years due to licensing and financial issues. Columbia Pictures finally licensed the project for a worldwide release in 1999. Koepp was hired to create a working screenplay, which was eventually rewritten byScott Rosenberg and refined byAlvin Sargent. Various directors were considered before Raimi was hired in 2000. Filming took place in Los Angeles and New York City from January to June 2001.Danny Elfman composed the musical score, whileSony Pictures Imageworks handled thevisual effects.[6]
On a high school field trip,Peter Parker visits aColumbia University genetics laboratory with his best friend,Harry Osborn, and his love interest,Mary Jane Watson. There, he is bitten by agenetically engineered spider, and falls ill upon returning home. Meanwhile, Harry's fatherNorman tests a performance-enhancing chemical on himself in an attempt to secure a military contract forOscorp, the company he founded. The chemical gives him superhuman strength but causes him to go insane and kill one of his scientists.
The next day, Peter develops spider-like abilities, including enhanced strength, senses, agility and speed, organic webbing in his wrists, and the ability to cling to walls. Hoping to buy a car to impress Mary Jane, Peter enters an underground fighting event and wins his first match but is swindled out of his earnings. Soon after, Peter'sUncle Ben is killed by athief who robbed the event, and whom Peter let escape. Peter pursues the thief, who eventually falls to his death. Meanwhile, a crazed Norman sabotages a product test by an Oscorp rival and kills several people.
Upon graduating, Peter begins using his abilities to fight crime, donning a costume and adopting the alias "Spider-Man".J. Jonah Jameson, the publisher of theDaily Bugle newspaper, hires Peter as a freelance photographer, since he can provide high-quality images of Spider-Man. When Oscorp's board of directors ousts Norman and sells the company, Norman uses a disguise to assassinate them during the Unity Day festival. As Spider-Man, Peter fends off Norman and rescues Mary Jane. Afterwards, Jameson bestows the name "theGreen Goblin" upon the mysterious masked killer.
Norman offers Peter a place at his side, but Peter refuses. They fight, and Peter flees after being wounded. Peter'sAunt May invites Mary Jane, Harry, and Norman for Thanksgiving dinner. Norman notices Peter's injury and deduces that he is Spider-Man. Later, Norman attacks and injures May, who is hospitalized. Peter is still unaware of the Goblin's identity but realizes that the Goblin is targeting his loved ones. While visiting the hospital, Mary Jane confesses to Peter her infatuation with Spider-Man, who has rescued her twice. Harry, who is dating Mary Jane, sees her holding Peter's hand and assumes she has feelings for him. A distraught Harry tells his father about Peter's relationship with Mary Jane.
That night, Norman captures Mary Jane and aRoosevelt Island Tramway car full of children. He tells Peter to choose whom to rescue, then drops them both from theQueensboro Bridge. Peter saves everyone, then lowers them onto a nearby barge for safety. An enraged Norman throws Peter intoSmallpox Hospital, an abandoned hospital inRoosevelt Island, then brutally beats him. After Norman reveals his intentions to kill Mary Jane, Peter finds the strength to fight back. Norman reveals his identity and begs forgiveness, discreetly preparing to impale Peter with his glider. Warned by his spider-sense, Peter dodges the attack, and the glider fatally skewers Norman instead. Before dying, Norman begs Peter not to reveal his identity to Harry. Peter takes Norman's body to the Osborn house, where Harry confronts him, but Peter escapes.
At Norman's funeral, Harry vows revenge on Spider-Man, whom he falsely holds responsible for his father's death. Mary Jane then confesses to Peter that she loves him. However, Peter feels he must protect her from his enemies, so he hides his true feelings and tells her they can only be friends. As Peter leaves, he recalls his uncle's words: "With great power comes great responsibility".
Tobey Maguire asPeter Parker / Spider-Man: A high school student who is bitten by a genetically engineered spider. He gains spider-like abilities and begins fighting crime as a masked vigilante.
Beginning in 1975, Marvel Comics made plans to bring its characters to films. By the early 1980s, the company was in negotiations with producers to bring its flagship character Spider-Man to the big screen, a process which was influenced by the critical and commercial success ofSuperman (1978), which was based on rivalDC Comics' flagship characterSuperman.[citation needed] The producerRoger Corman was the first to hold an option on theSpider-Man property, and began to develop the film atOrion Pictures. Stan Lee, the co-creator ofSpider-Man, was brought in to write a screenplay which featuredCold War themes andDoctor Octopus as the primary antagonist. The project did not come to fruition following budgetary disputes between Corman and Lee, as well as the critical and commercial failure ofSuperman III (1983), which made film adaptations of comic books a hard sell in the industry.[17]
The film rights were then acquired byMenahem Golan andYoram Globus ofThe Cannon Group for $225,000 in 1985.[18][19] Golan and Globus were not familiar with Spider-Man and mistook him for awerewolf-like character.Leslie Stevens, creator ofThe Outer Limits, was hired to write a screenplay based on this concept. Stevens' script depicted Peter Parker as a photographer who is subjected to a mad scientist's experiment, which transforms him into a humantarantula.Tobe Hooper, who was preparing to shootThe Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 andInvaders from Mars (both 1986) for Cannon, signed on to direct.[20] Lee despised the horror route the studio was taking with the character and demanded that a new script be written that was closer to the source material.[21][22] By 1985, a new screenplay was being developed by Ted Newsom andJohn Brancato. In this version, Peter Parker receives his spider-like abilities from acyclotron experiment. Doctor Octopus served as the antagonist and was written as Peter's mentor-turned-enemy. Barney Cohen was brought in to do a rewrite which added humor, additional action scenes, and a supporting villain.[23] Newsom and Brancato hadJohn Cusack in mind for the part of Peter Parker.[24]
Cannon hired as directorJoseph Zito, who had previously directed the commercially successfulInvasion U.S.A. (1985) for the studio. Cannon consideredTom Cruise for the role of Peter Parker, while Zito was interested in casting the actor and stuntmanScott Leva, who had previously done promotional appearances as Spider-Man for Marvel.[25]Bob Hoskins was considered for Doctor Octopus whileLauren Bacall andKatharine Hepburn were considered forAunt May, whileGregory Peck andPaul Newman were considered forUncle Ben. Lee expressed his desire to make a cameo appearance asJ. Jonah Jameson in the film. The project was tentatively titledSpider-Man: The Movie and was budgeted between $15–20 million. Following the critical and financial failures of two 1987 Cannon films—Superman IV: The Quest for Peace andMasters of the Universe—the budget forSpider-Man: The Movie was cut to $7 million. Zito was unhappy with the lower budget and stepped down as the director. He was replaced byAlbert Pyun, but the project was cancelled following Cannon's acquisition byGiancarlo Paretti and Golan's departure from the studio.[20]
Golan extended his option onSpider-Man during his tenure as CEO of21st Century Film Corporation. By 1989, he was attempting to revive the project using the script, budget, and storyboards developed at Cannon. In order to receive production funds, Golan sold the television rights toViacom, the home video rights toColumbia Pictures, and the theatrical rights toCarolco Pictures, whereJames Cameron signed on to write and direct the film.[26] Cameron had previously met with Stan Lee to discuss a possibleX-Men film, but Lee convinced Cameron that he would be a good choice to direct aSpider-Man film.[c]
Cameron submitted a treatment to Carolco in 1993, which was a darker, more mature take on theSpider-Man mythos.[30] In addition to Spider-Man's origin story, it also included reimagined versions of the villainsElectro andSandman. Electro was described as a megalomaniacal businessman named Carlton Strand, while Sandman was depicted as Strand's personal bodyguard. Cameron's treatment featured heavy profanity and a sex scene between Spider-Man andMary Jane Watson atop theBrooklyn Bridge. Carolco set a $50 million budget for the film, but progress stalled when Golan sued Carolco for attempting to make the film without his involvement.[31] Cameron had recently completedTrue Lies (1994) forTwentieth Century Fox, and the studio unsuccessfully attempted to acquire theSpider-Man film rights for him. Cameron then abandoned the film and began work onTitanic (1997) and other projects.[32][33] He revealed in a 1997 interview that he had theTitanic starLeonardo DiCaprio in mind for the role of Peter Parker.[34]
In 1995,Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) acquired 21st Century Film Corporation's rights to produce the film, which gave them access to previousSpider-Man scripts. MGM then sued Viacom,Sony Pictures, and Marvel, which they accused of fraud in the original deal with Cannon. The following year, 21st Century, Carolco, and Marvel all filed for bankruptcy.[35]
Following the disastrous reception ofBatman & Robin in 1997, film studios viewed comics as merely for children and did not take thesuperhero genre seriously. No studio showed interest in aSpider-Man film until the release ofBlade in 1998 and the development ofX-Men (2000), projects which convinced some studios that a Marvel character could carry a film.[36] Marvel emerged from bankruptcy in 1998 and declared that Menahem Golan's option had expired and that the rights had reverted to them. Marvel then sold the rights to Sony for $7 million.[37][38] Although Sony optioned from MGM all precedingSpider-Man screenplays, it only exercised the options on "the Cameron material", which contractually included a multi-author screenplay and a forty-five-page "scriptment" credited only to Cameron. However, the studio announced it was not hiring Cameron to direct the film nor would it be using his script.[39]
The chair of Columbia Pictures,Amy Pascal, had a first choice for director:Sam Raimi, who was a fan of theSpider-Man comics during his youth.[47][48] However, Raimi's agent warned him that he was not Sony's preferred choice.[49] During a meeting with Pascal, Sony Pictures CEOJohn Calley,Marvel Films chiefAvi Arad, Sony executiveMatt Tolmach, and the film's producer,Laura Ziskin, Raimipitched himself as the ideal director for the project. He abruptly ended his pitch after one hour, not wanting to overstay his welcome if the executives did not want him.[36] However, Raimi's passion forSpider-Man earned him the job. He was attached to direct in January 2000, for a summer 2001 release.[50][51]
Sam Raimi in 2014
David Koepp was brought aboard to write the screenplay. Cameron's script was the foundation for his first draft, often word for word.[52][53] Koepp pitched the idea that Peter Parker should not get his Spider-Man suit until halfway through the film, so his origin story could be lengthened. He also proposed that Peter and Mary Jane should not be a couple by the end of the film, feeling it was more romantic if they remained apart. In this version of the script, Electro was the main antagonist.[36]
Koepp's rewrite substituted theGreen Goblin as the main antagonist and addedDoctor Octopus as the secondary antagonist.[54] However, Raimi cut Doctor Octopus from the story, so as to focus on the surrogate father-son dynamic between Norman Osborn and Peter Parker, which he found interesting.[55][56] In June 2000,Scott Rosenberg was hired to rewrite Koepp's material. Remaining a constant in all the rewrites was Cameron's idea that Peter shoots organic webbing from his wrists, as opposed to him inventing mechanical webshooters, which is how he shoots webs in the comics.[57] Raimi felt the mechanical webshooters would stretch the audience'ssuspension of disbelief too far.[58] This decision was controversial with long-time fans of the comics.[59][42]
As production neared,Alvin Sargent was hired by Ziskin to polish the dialogue, primarily between Peter and Mary Jane.[60] Although Rosenberg, Sargent and Cameron all could have received credit for the finalSpider-Man script, all three voluntarily relinquished credit to Koepp.[52]
Tobey Maguire was Raimi's first choice for Peter Parker after he saw him inThe Cider House Rules.[70] The studio was initially hesitant to cast someone who did not seem like a "adrenaline-pumping, tail-kicking titan", but Maguire impressed studio executives with his audition.[71] He was cast in the role in July 2000, and signed a deal in the range of $3 to $4million with higher salary options for two sequels.[71] To prepare for the role, Maguire improved his physique over several months by training with a physical trainer, a yoga instructor, a martial arts expert, and a climbing expert.[58][72] He studied spiders and learned how to perform arachnid-like movements.[73]
Nicolas Cage,Jason Isaacs,John Malkovich andBilly Bob Thornton were considered for the role of Norman Osborn, but all turned it down.[g] Willem Dafoe was selected for the part in November 2000.[78] He was intrigued by the prospect of working with Raimi and by the idea of a film based on comics.[h] He insisted on wearing the Green Goblin costume himself, as he felt that astuntman would not convey the character's necessary body language. The 580-piece suit took half an hour to put on.[42]
Kate Bosworth,Eliza Dushku,Jaime King andMena Suvari all auditioned for the role of Mary Jane Watson.[i]Alicia Witt was considered for the role, andKate Hudson was offered the part but turned it down to star inThe Four Feathers (2002) instead.[j]Elizabeth Banks auditioned, but at 28 she was deemed too old, despite being only sixteen months older than Maguire. Banks was cast as Jameson's secretary Betty Brant instead, and 18-year-old Kirsten Dunst was cast as Mary Jane a month before filming began.[87][42] To create Mary Jane's red hair, Dunst's hair was dyed in the front and she wore a half-wig.[88] The producers wanted Dunst to get her teeth straightened, but she refused.[89][14]
Stan Lee was interested in playing J. Jonah Jameson, but the filmmakers felt he was too old to convincingly play the part. Lee was supportive of the eventual casting of J.K. Simmons, feeling that Simmons gave a better performance than he could have achieved.[90]Hugh Jackman was supposed to have a cameo as theX-Men film series characterWolverine, but the appearance was scrapped after the production team realized they did not have the Wolverine costume.[91][92]
The first version of the Green Goblin's mask was created by Amalgamated Dynamics.
The first version of the Green Goblin's headgear was an animatronic mask created byAmalgamated Dynamics.[93] Dafoe described it as a "silly looking" Halloween mask. The second version was a helmet that Dafoe termed "very angular, very modern ... more like an armor."[36] Dafoe wanted the costume to be flexible enough to allow him to do the splits.[94]
The Spider-Man suit worn by Maguire took six months to create. It was one piece, including the mask and boots. The eye lenses were hand-sculpted by Hans Moritz, who had created the visor for the character Cyclops inX-Men (2000). An alternate suit with a detachable mask was used for scenes in which Spider-Man takes his mask off.[k]
ASteatoda grossa spider was used for the genetically-modified spider that bites Peter and gives him his abilities. It was painted with red and blue makeup.[97]
Principal photography forSpider-Man began on January 8, 2001, in Culver City, California.[60] The cinematographer,Don Burgess, shot the film with Panavision Platinum and Millennium XL cameras and Primo lenses.[98] After theSeptember 11 attacks, certain sequences were re-filmed, and a shot of theTwin Towers was removed from the film.[l] Sequences in Peter's home and in the wrestling arena were filmed on soundstages. TheTimes Square sequence in which Spider-Man and the Green Goblin fight for the first time was filmed on soundstages and in Downey, California. In Downey, a construction worker named Tim Holcombe was killed when a forklift modified as a construction crane crashed into the construction basket he was in.[102][103] The following court case led the state of California to fine Sony $58,805.[104]
In a now-iconic scene, Mary Jane kisses Peter while he is hanging upside down in the rain. To prepare for the scene, Dunst was given a book describing famous film kisses. During filming, water was pouring into Maguire's nose, which made it difficult for him to breathe.[m] For the wrestling scene,Randy Savage insisted on doing his own stunts, one of which resulted in injury.[110] The shot in which Peter catches Mary Jane's food tray was achieved without visual effects and with Maguire's hand glued to the tray. The shot took 156 takes and 16 hours to accomplish.[111]
In Los Angeles, filming locations included theNatural History Museum for theColumbia University laboratory where Peter is bitten, the Pacific Electricity Building for theDaily Bugle offices, andGreystone Mansion for the interiors of Norman's home.[112] On April 4, Spider-Man costumes were stolen, and Sony put up a $25,000 reward for their return.[113] They were recovered after 18 months; a former studio security guard and an accomplice were arrested.[n]
John Dykstra was hired as the film's visual effects supervisor in May 2000.[119][120] He convinced Raimi to usecomputer-generated imagery (CGI) for many of the stunts that were physically impossible. Raimi—who had used more traditional special effects in his previous films—worked hard to plan all the sequences of Spider-Man swinging from buildings, which he described as "ballet in the sky."[48] The complexity of such sequences meant the budget rose from an initially planned $70million to around $100million.[70] Spider-Man and the Green Goblin had to be shot separately for effects shots: Spider-Man was shot in front of agreenscreen, while the Goblin was shot against a bluescreen. Shooting them together would have resulted in one character being erased from a shot.[p]
Dykstra said the biggest difficulty of creating Spider-Man was that as the character was masked, it immediately lost a lot of characterization. Without the context of eyes or mouth, a lot of body language had to be put in so that there would be emotional content. Raimi wanted to convey the essence of Spider-Man as being, "the transition that occurs between him being a young man going through puberty and being a superhero." Dykstra said his crew of animators had never reached such a level of sophistication to give subtle hints of still making Spider-Man feel like a human being.[123] When two studio executives were shown shots of the computer generated character, they believed it was actually Maguire performing stunts.[42] In addition, Dykstra's crew had to composite areas of New York City and replaced every car in shots with digital models. Raimi did not want it to feel entirely like animation, so none of the shots were 100% computer-generated.[124]
Spider-Man was originally scheduled for release on November 2, 2001. Due to an extended post-production schedule, the release was postponed until May 3, 2002.[71][125]
Danny Elfman composed the musical score forSpider-Man. The film's soundtrack combines traditional orchestration, ethnic percussion, and electronic elements. Its distinct ethnic characteristics are credited to Elfman, who spent a year in Africa studying its unique percussion.[citation needed]
After theSeptember 11 attacks occurred in 2001, Sony recalled aSpider-Manteaser poster and ateaser trailer, both of which depicted the Twin Towers of theWorld Trade Center.[126] The poster showed a close-up of Spider-Man's face with the towers reflected in the eye of his mask, while the trailer showed a helicopter getting caught in a giant spider web between the towers.[q] The trailer, which according to Sony did not contain any actual footage from the film, was also removed from the home video release ofA Knight's Tale (2001).[r] Raimi later stated that the helicopter scene was originally in the film, but was removed after the attacks.[134] A new teaser poster featuring Spider-Man and the Green Goblin was unveiled in November 2001.[135] A month later, a new trailer debuted on television and in theaters attached to showings ofFinal Fantasy: The Spirits Within andThe Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.[136][137] An additional trailer was released online and in theaters near the end of March.[138]
To promote the film, Sony partnered withCKE Restaurants to releaseSpider-Man products atHardee's andCarl's Jr. restaurants. Beginning in April 2002, the restaurants offeredSpider-Man cups and toys, as well as Spider-Man figures that could be attached to a car radio antenna.[139]KFC offeredSpider-Man kids meal toys in the United Kingdom.[140] Other promotional partners includedDr Pepper,Hershey's,Kellogg's, andReebok.[141]
Spider-Man was first released in theaters on May 3, 2002, in 18 markets.[142] According to Rick Lyman ofThe New York Times, film industry executives expectedSpider-Man to have a strong opening. Competition from other films was limited, and polls showed strong interest in Raimi's film from every age group. However, neither executives nor polling firms predicted that the film's earnings would exceed those ofHarry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001).[143] Upon release,Spider-Man became the number one film at the box office.[s] In the United States and Canada, it opened on 7,500 screens at 3,615 theaters and earned $114.8 million during its opening weekend, surpassingSorcerer's Stone to set a record for the largest opening weekend in history at the time.[t]Spider-Man became the first film to gross $100 million in a single weekend (even when adjusting for inflation), and the first film to reach $100 million in three days.[149][150] It also set a record for highest three-day gross.[151]
Spider-Man earned $39.4 million on its opening day, an average of $10,901 per theater.[152] This opening-day gross was the all-time highest until 2004, when it was surpassed by the $40.4million opening ofSpider-Man 2.[153] During opening weekend,Spider-Man grossed an average of $31,769 per theater. According toBox Office Mojo, this was the all-time highest per-theater average for an "ultra-wide release."[145] On its second day of release, the film set a record for the highest earnings in a single day, with $43.6 million.[u] On its third day,Spider-Man earned $31.8 million, the highest gross at the time for a Sunday.[152][145] Within four days, the film had the biggest non-holiday Monday of all time with $11 million, which increased its total gross to $125.1 million.[155]
Spider-Man remained at the top of the box office in its second weekend, dropping 38% and grossing another $71.4 million while averaging $19,756 per theater; this was the highest-grossing second weekend for any film at the time.[156]Spider-Man reached the $200million mark on its ninth day of release, also a record at the time.[156] This made it the fastest film to cross the $200 million mark, surpassingStar Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999).[157] At the end of its second weekend, the film had earned a 10-day total of $223 million, and it quickly surpassedIce Age to become the highest-grossing film of the year.[156]
The film dropped to the second position in its third weekend, behindStar Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, but still made $45 million, dropping 37% and averaging $12,458 per theater, which brought its 17-day tally to $285.6 million.[158] Its third weekend haul set the record for highest-grossing third weekend, which was first surpassed byAvatar in 2009.[159]Spider-Man would beat another record that was previously held byThe Phantom Menace, becoming the quickest film to hit $300 million in just 22 days.[160] It stayed at the second position in its fourth weekend, grossing $35.8 million over the four-day Memorial Day weekend, dropping only 21% while expanding to 3,876 theaters, averaging $9,240 over four days, and bringing the 25-day gross to $333.6 million.[161] Within 66 days,Spider-Man reached a total gross of $400 million.[162][163]
Spider-Man became 2002's highest-grossing film with $407.8 million in the US and Canada, surpassingThe Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers andAttack of the Clones.[164] As of 2024,Spider-Man ranks as the77th-highest-grossing film of all time in the US and Canada, not adjusted for inflation. The film sold an estimated 69.5 million tickets in the US.[165]
Outside the US and Canada,Spider-Man opened in 17 territories in its first week, earning a total of $13.3 million. It set a record for the highest opening gross in Spain and Switzerland; the second-highest opening in Iceland, Singapore and South Korea; and the third-highest opening in Russia, Germany and Yugoslavia.[v] In the United Kingdom,Spider-Man made $13.9 million from 509 screens in its first week, making it the country's fifth biggest opening.[169] It stayed at number one for three weeks, until it was displaced byMinority Report.[170] In India,Spider-Man was Sony's first major release sinceGodzilla in 1998. It was simultaneously released in English, Hindi,Tamil andTelugu across 250 screens, becoming the widest reach and return for a Hollywood film sinceThe Mummy Returns (2001).[171] The international markets that generated grosses in excess of $10million include Australia ($16.9million), Brazil ($17.4million), Germany ($30.7million), Italy ($20.8million), Japan ($56.2million), Mexico ($31.2million), South Korea ($16.98million), Spain ($23.7million), and the multi-nation markets of the United Kingdom, Ireland and Malta ($45.8million), and France, Algeria, Monaco, Morocco and Tunisia ($32.9million).[172]
Outside the US and Canada,Spider-Man grossed $418 million and was the third-highest-grossing film of 2002, behindThe Two Towers andHarry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Worldwide, the film's gross was now $825.8 million, making it the 58th-highest-grossing film of all time.[165][173]Spider-Man also set records for the highest-grossing Sony film and the highest-grossing superhero film.[w][x]
Spider-Man was re-released in theaters on April 15, 2024, as part of Columbia Pictures' 100th anniversary celebration.[179] It was re-released again on September 26, 2025 as part of a collaboration between Sony andFathom Events. An encore screening followed on October 3, 2025.[180]
In the United Kingdom,Spider-Man was given a "12" rating, meaning that no child under the age of 12 could see the film in a theater. In applying the rating, theBritish Board of Film Classification (BBFC) claimed that the film depicted strong violence as an appropriate solution to problems. Some local councils, pressured by cinema operators, changed the rating in their jurisdictions so that younger children could see the film. John Wilkinson, chairman of the Cinema Exhibitors' Association, said that theaters wanted a lower rating to avoid complaints from parents of young children who wanted to seeSpider-Man.[y] In late August, the BBFC changed the "12" rating to "12A", meaning children under 12 could watch a film if accompanied by an adult. Following the change, Sony re-releasedSpider-Man with the 12A rating.[z]
Spider-Man was released onVHS andDVD on November 1, 2002, in North America and Australia, and on November 25, 2002, in the United Kingdom.[188] Sony spent over $100 million marketing the DVD, which sold over 7 million copies on its first day of release, setting a record for the highest single-day DVD sales.[aa] Although the animated filmFinding Nemo (2003) would break the single-day record, as of 2022Spider-Man still holds the record for most DVD sales in one day for a live-action film.Spider-Man was also the second highest selling DVD of 2002.[192] By July 2004, the film's U.S. DVD revenue was $338.8million, while its U.S. VHS revenue was $89.2million.[193] To date, over 19.5 million DVD copies and 6.5 million VHS copies ofSpider-Man have been sold.[ab] The film's two-disc DVD release comes in separate widescreen (1.85:1 aspect ratio) and fullscreen (1.33:1 aspect ratio) versions. Bonus features include commentaries, promotional material and behind-the-scenes featurettes.[198]
The film's US television rights (Fox,TBS/TNT) were sold for $60million, and sales of licensed toys related to the film have surpassed $109million.[193] By 2006,Spider-Man had a total gross of$1.5billion from box office andhome video (sales and rentals), with a further$880 million fromtelevision (pay-per-view,broadcast TV andcable TV).[199]
Spider-Man was first released onBlu-ray in 2007 as part of theSpider-Man Trilogy.[200] It had standalone Blu-ray releases in 2010 and 2011.[201][202] In 2017, the film was included in theSpider-Man Legacy Collection, a set of fiveSpider-Man films on4K Ultra HD Blu-ray.[203] Raimi'sSpider-Man trilogy was released onDisney+ on April 21, 2023.[204]
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 90% of 277 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "Not only doesSpider-Man provide a good dose of web-swinging fun, it also has a heart, thanks to the combined charms of director Sam Raimi and star Tobey Maguire."[205]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, assigned the film a score of 73 out of 100, based on 38 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[206] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.[207]
Eric Harrison of theHouston Chronicle called the film "a nimble, spirited tale that adroitly captures the flavor ofSpider-Man comics" but gets weighed down by "the lugubrious trappings of big-budget fantasy movies." He praised Maguire's casting, saying it was difficult to imagine anyone else in the role.[208]Owen Gleiberman ofEntertainment Weekly describedSpider-Man as exciting but campy. He felt that Maguire gave a "winning" performance, but was unable "to bring the two sides of Spidey—the boy and the man, the romantic and the avenger—together."[209] Mike Clark ofUSA Today lauded the film's casting, action sequences and production value.[210] In his review forThe Wall Street Journal,Joe Morgenstern applauded Maguire's performance but criticized the "strident intensity" of Dafoe, claiming that he delivered a poor villain compared toGene Hackman inSuperman andJack Nicholson inBatman.[211] Kirk Honeycutt ofThe Hollywood Reporter praised the creativity of the opening credits and the upside-down kiss scene.[212] Several reviewers felt thatSpider-Man was not as good as Raimi's 1990 filmDarkman.[ac]
Writing inLA Weekly,Manohla Dargis said that Spider-Man as a character was "not particularly interesting" in Raimi's film, and that the action scenes felt unconvincing and forced.[213]Roger Ebert of theChicago Sun-Times criticized the action sequences, particularly the scene in which Peter is given a choice between saving Mary Jane or a cable car full of children. He said the scene could have expressed great emotional tension, but instead felt like a "bloodless storyboard."[214] In a 2007 retrospective on the first twoSpider-Man films, Richard George ofIGN called the Green Goblin's costume "almost comically bad". He wrote of the Goblin's mask: "Not only is it not frightening, it prohibits expression."[215]
Entertainment Weekly put the upside-down kiss on its 2009 list of the best pop culture creations of the decade, saying: "There's a fine line between romantic and corny. And the rain-soaked smooch ... tap-dances right on that line. The reason it works? Even if she suspects he's Peter Parker, she doesn't try to find out. And that's sexy."[216] In 2008,Empire magazine rankedSpider-Man 437th on its list of the 500 best films of all time.[217]
Two sequels toSpider-Man were produced and directed by Raimi.Spider-Man 2 was released on June 30, 2004, whileSpider-Man 3 was released on May 4, 2007. Aspin-off animated series,Spider-Man: The New Animated Series, aired from July to September 2003. It was intended to serve as a continuation of the first film.[220]
By July 2006, combined U.S. sales of variousSpider-Man console games released in the 2000s reached 6 million units. By this time, the PlayStation 2 version ofSpider-Man had sold 2.1million copies and earned $74million in the United States.[222] The magazineNext Generation ranked it as the 15th highest-selling game launched for the GameCube, PlayStation 2 or Xbox between January 2000 and July 2006 in the United States.
^Zonkel, Phillip (March 20, 2003). "Spinning 'Spider-Man's' Visual Effects Web – Former CSULB Student John Dykstra Is Credited with a Great Deal of Computer-Generated Movie Magic".Press-Telegram. Long Beach, California.
^"The 100 Greatest Movies, TV Shows, Albums, Books, Characters, Scenes, Episodes, Songs, Dresses, Music Videos, and Trends that Entertained Us over the Past 10 Years".Entertainment Weekly. No. 1079/1080. December 11, 2009. pp. 74–84.ASINB00382WGUY.
_poster.jpg)
.jpg)
