Movie Review: Is Spider-Man Reboot a HIT?

Read Time:2 Minute, 42 Second

<img src="spider-man.jpg" alt="movie Review of Speider Man reboot"> — Spider-Man Grossed $35M on first weekend beating Transformers. Photo by Jaimie Trueblood/2012 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc

I’ve never been a huge Spider-Man fan, although I do find myself sitting in dark theaters in anticipation of the webbed wonder primarily because of the special effects. In most cases the story line is secondary provided there are monsters. Nothing beats a good monster. I’ve yet to see this latest iteration of Spidey but thought I would share this review regardless:

Many film critics contend that rebooting the Spider-Man franchise was unnecessary, but audiences seem to disagree. The Amazing Spider-Man set a box-office record on July 3, as its $35 million opening-day total registered as the most profitable Tuesday opening ever, besting the previous record of $27.8 million set by Transformers in 2007. Forecasters now expect a holiday weekend total in the range of $110 million to $120 million for the film, which would be far less than the $146 million Transformers managed to grab over its first week of release, and certainly much less than the most recent superhero hit — The Avengers debuted to $200 million. Should The Amazing Spider-Man be ruled a hit… or a failure?

It’s a hit: The Amazing Spider-Man is cleaning up, says Grady Smith at Entertainment Weekly. The July 4 holiday weekend “is always a lucrative one in theaters,” and I bet The Amazing Spider-Man is headed for a six-day total above $150 million. “There’s always a chance that the picture could crumble,” but given the generally positive reviews, the movie’s strategic holiday-weekend release, and the enthusiastic response it’s gotten from audiences, and you’ve got a hit on your hands.

Eh, don’t be so sure: Judged against other franchise reboots, The Amazing Spider-Man is doing great, says Joal Ryan at E! Online. Its $35 million opening blew away the debuts of Superman Returns ($21 million) and Batman Begins ($15.1 million). Still, compared to the first three Spider-Man films, the new movie’s total is disappointing. The first Spider-Man opened to $39.4 million in 2002, Spider-Man 2 raked in $40.4 million in 2004, and Spider-Man 3 clobbered them all with $60 million in 2007. The Amazing Spider-Man may have set a Tuesday record, but that’s not really all that impressive: “A small, and mostly non-illustrious group of films have debuted on that day.”

Either way, this proves the reboot was a good idea: The projected figures may not be on par with Spider-Man 3‘s $151 million opening weekend, says Dave Lewis at HitFix. But The Amazing Spider-Man‘s performance is still vindicating. Remember, the initial decision to reboot the franchise was “questioned by a number fans,” but now that it’s here, The Amazing Spider-Man “seems to be clicking with general moviegoers.” Expect a planned sequel to be fast-tracked.