JumpinJack AJ Posted May 4, 2007 Report Share Posted May 4, 2007 on Track to Beat Predecessors Third Film Already Setting Records Overseas By Dean Goodman Reuters LOS ANGELES (May 2) -- By the time "Spider-Man 3" opens in North America and Britain Friday, the superhero will have already ensnared moviegoers around the world. Columbia Pictures started rolling out the third installment of its lucrative comic-book adaptation Tuesday in 16 countries -- eight each in Asia and Europe. What's Behind the Half-Billion Dollar Movie? See what the critics are saying about Spidey: First-day sales in those markets, which include Japan, South Korea, Germany and France, totaled $29.2 million, the Sony Corp.-owned studio said Wednesday. In every case, the new film outperformed its predecessors, and set industry records in 10 of them. On a comparable basis, "Spider-Man 2" opened to $15.6 million in 2004 in those markets, while "Spider-Man" bowed to $10.6 million in 2002. With a budget of $258 million, according to Columbia -- or upward of $350 million, if the Hollywood gossip machine is to be believed -- "Spider-Man 3" reunites stars Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst with director Sam Raimi . As is often the case with superhero sequels, the action is a little darker. Some influential critics were not overly enthusiastic. The Los Angeles Times said the film possessed "an ungainly, cumbersome feeling." The Times of London described it as "a daft, highly polished couple of hours of fantasy fun." But the Rotten Tomatoes web site (http://www.rottentomatoes.com), which aggregates movie reviews, indicated that 71 percent of critics liked the film. No one expects the film will have any trouble dominating ticket sales in North America, at least until "Shrek the Third" opens May 18, followed a week later by another trilogy-closer, "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End." "Spider-Man 3" could "very likely" break the three-day opening record of $135.6 million set exactly a year ago by "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," said industry analyst Brandon Gray, president and publisher of Box Office Mojo (http://www.boxofficemojo.com). Comparisons with "Spider-Man 2" are difficult because it opened on a Wednesday. But the "Pirates" sequel beat the old three-day record of $115 million set by the first "Spider-Man." That figure would be about $130 million in today's money after adjusting for ticket price inflation, according to Gray. LOTS OF THEATERS Sony Pictures vice chairman Jeff Blake said it would be a "pretty daunting" task to surpass the "Pirates" sequel. "Everywhere we've opened so far has been the biggest 'Spider-Man' ever. That's our goal," he said. Another analyst, Paul Dergarabedian of Media By Numbers LLC, said "Spider-Man 3" could also break the single-day record of $55.8 million, also set by the "Pirates" sequel. "The box office has been in a lull for the past few weeks, and I think people are just waiting for 'Spider-Man' to hit the theaters, and then it's going to explode on Friday," he said. "This one could surprise a lot of people. It could do even better than we think." Also helping its cause is the fact that "Spider-Man 3" will open in 4,253 theaters, up from 4,133 for the "Pirates" sequel and 3,615 for "Spider-Man." The saturation release ensures no one will have trouble seeing the movie this weekend, but it also means the film could burn out more quickly. "Spider-Man 2" grossed $783 million worldwide, about $40 million short of the first one. The North American contribution fell $30 million to $373.6 million. The first sequel cost about $200 million to make, nearly double that of the original. Gray said the diminishing returns were not cause for great concern given the franchise's lofty start. Moreover, the "Spider-Man" franchise appears to be in better shape than the "Batman" and "Superman" films were at the same stage in their cycles, he added. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Hero1 Posted May 4, 2007 Admin Report Share Posted May 4, 2007 I love spidey..but can't stand the Spiderman movies :sipread: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ant1 Posted May 4, 2007 Report Share Posted May 4, 2007 I'm waiting for the Transformers movie myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigWillieFan01 Posted May 4, 2007 Report Share Posted May 4, 2007 I have seen spidey 3 on monday. It officially started on may 1st in Germany, but on monday there were the premiere. It is a very very good film. I love it. Can't wait for the dvd. People, go to the cinema and watch this movie. I'm sure you won't be disappointed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxFly Posted May 4, 2007 Report Share Posted May 4, 2007 I'm hearing great things about this one. Can't wait to see it in IMAX. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Posted May 4, 2007 Report Share Posted May 4, 2007 bad reviews here so far Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver Tiger Posted May 4, 2007 Report Share Posted May 4, 2007 I saw it at midnight. It had some cool action but I noticed a lot of clichés and the villains seemed almost thrown in by the amount of screen time each one got (Venom was clearly in the movie as a fan service because he wasn't in the movie long). It's a lot better than most of the Super Hero movies made withing the last 5 years but it's got a lot flaws. Batman Begins is still the reigning champ in my book. God Blessa! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxFly Posted May 4, 2007 Report Share Posted May 4, 2007 I saw it at midnight. It had some cool action but I noticed a lot of clichés and the villains seemed almost thrown in by the amount of screen time each one got (Venom was clearly in the movie as a fan service because he wasn't in the movie long). It's a lot better than most of the Super Hero movies made withing the last 5 years but it's got a lot flaws. Batman Begins is still the reigning champ in my book. God Blessa! Thanks for the review. Yeah, Batman begins was off the chain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
analogue Posted May 5, 2007 Report Share Posted May 5, 2007 I just saw the movie today and it was amazing! It had eveything from action to comedy to drama and with a great story to boot PS. VENOM LOOKS AMAZING! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bart5 Posted May 6, 2007 Report Share Posted May 6, 2007 I don't know about everyone else, but I thought it was a great movie. Definitely a must-see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpinJack AJ Posted May 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2007 I think the movie waz good, but i didn't like how they'd did the campy comic book thing and then went in2 a very dark moment. I just feel like a few moments had the cheesy factor amped up too high. The whole "bad Spidey" thing reminded me of Superman III and the multiple villians reminded me of that Batman movies. Not that i'm saying it waz a bad thing or a stolen idea...just that i waz thinking that while watching it. The story was really good, but overwelming at times...like they were taking on 2 much 2 cram it in2 what could be the last movie. Still a very good movie that i would recommend people 2 see...but my least fav of the 3. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevTastic Posted May 7, 2007 Report Share Posted May 7, 2007 Well the fact Eric Forman from That '70's Show plays Venom makes me intrigued. I'll go catch the film soon. Got a few pals who are big Spidey fans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ant1 Posted May 7, 2007 Report Share Posted May 7, 2007 I saw the movie yesterday with my little brother since he's a big spidey fan.. i enjoyed it alot but it did seem like they cramed alot of suff in it at once but i gotta say venom was awesome tho!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandy Posted May 7, 2007 Report Share Posted May 7, 2007 I saw the movie this weekend. I liked a lot and it's worth to see it but the first 2 movies were better. My next movie on cinema will be pirates of the caribbean 3!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxFly Posted May 7, 2007 Report Share Posted May 7, 2007 I saw it today in at an IMAX theater. It was outstanding. It did seem as if they tried to cram a lot into it, but it was very well written and the action scenes were amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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