Spider-Man (2002)

Spider-Man is a 2002 superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man which follows the origins of Superhero and his battle with Green Goblin. The film is the first in the Spider-Man film series. It was followed up by two sequels, Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3.

Plot
Peter Parker, Harry Osborn and Mary Jane Watson visit a genetics laboratory with their high school class. While taking photos in the laboratory, Peter is bitten on the hand by a genetically engineered "super spider", and arrives home and passes out with the bite wound considerably swollen. Meanwhile, Norman Osborn, Harry's father, attempts to preserve his company's military contract from a rival firm, personally experimenting with his company's new but unstable performance-enhancing chemical vapor to increase his speed, strength, and stamina. Afterward, he goes into an uncontrollable rage and kills his assistant. The next morning, Peter finds that his previously impaired vision has improved to 20/20 and that his body has metamorphosed into a more muscular physique. When Peter goes to school, he finds himself producing webbing and having the quick reflexes to avoid being injured in a fight with Flash Thompson. Peter escapes from the school and realizes that he has acquired spider-like abilities from the spider bite. Peter quickly learns to scale walls, long jump across building rooftops and swing using webs from his wrists.

Lying to his aunt and uncle about where he is going, Peter decides to enter a wrestling tournament to get money to buy a car and impress Mary Jane. During an argument, Uncle Ben advises Peter, "With great power comes great responsibility." Peter lashes out at his uncle and leaves for the tournament. Peter wins, but is cheated out of the contest money; in retaliation he allows a thief to escape with the promoter's gate money. Afterward, Peter finds his uncle has been carjacked and killed. Peter tracks down the carjacker only to find out it was the same thief he allowed to escape earlier. During the struggle, the carjacker falls out of a window and is killed. Upon graduating, Peter decides to use his abilities to fight injustice, and dons a new costume and the persona of Spider-Man. Peter is hired as a freelance photographer when he arrives in newspaper editor J. Jonah Jameson's office with the only clear images of Spider-Man.

Norman, upon finding out that Oscorp's board members plan to sell the company, attacks them at the World Unity Fair. Jameson quickly dubs Norman as the Green Goblin. The Goblin offers Spider-Man a place at his side as he sees how the authorities mistrust him, but Spider-Man refuses, knowing that it is the right thing to do. The Goblin commits arson to engage him with a final offer, which Spider-Man refuses, and the Goblin becomes set on killing him. At the Osborn and Parkers' Thanksgiving dinner, Norman notices Peter's wound from the masked confrontation and leaves shortly thereafter. Feeling betrayed by Peter, and having found a personal annoyance with Aunt May, he attacks her. Whilst she recovers in the hospital, Mary Jane admits she has a crush on Spider-Man, who rescued her on numerous occasions, and asks Peter whether he ever asked about her. Peter reflects on his own feelings, during which Harry Osborn enters. Feeling betrayed by his girlfriend, Harry becomes fully loyal to his father, and tells him whom Peter loves the most.

The Goblin strikes, holding Mary Jane and a tram car full of children hostage on top the Queensboro Bridge. The Goblin tells Spider-Man to choose who he wants to save, and when Spider-Man refuses to choose, the Goblin drops his hostages. Spider-Man manages to save both Mary Jane and the tram car, whilst the Goblin is pelted at by civilians, showing loyalty to Spider-Man and proving him wrong by telling the Goblin that if "you mess with him, you mess with New York." The Goblin then grabs Spider-Man and throws him into an abandoned building and begins to beat him. The tables turn as the Goblin boasts of how he will later kill Mary Jane, and an enraged Spider-Man forces him into being unmasked. Norman begs for forgiveness, but his Goblin persona attempts to remote-control his glider to impale Spider-Man. The superhero evades the attack, causing the glider to impale Norman instead, and he dies asking Peter not to reveal his secret to Harry. At Norman’s funeral, Harry swears vengeance toward Spider-Man, who he believes is responsible for killing his father, and asserts that Peter is all he has left. Mary Jane confesses to Peter that she’s in love with him, but Peter, feeling that he must protect her, hides his true feelings. As Peter leaves the funeral, he recalls Uncle Ben's words, "With great power comes great responsibility."

Cast

 * Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker/Spider-Man
 * Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn / Green Goblin
 * Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watson
 * James Franco as Harry Osborn
 * Cliff Robertson as Ben Parker
 * Rosemary Harris as May Parker
 * J. K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson
 * Bill Nunn as Robbie Robertson
 * Elizabeth Banks as Betty Brant
 * Ted Raimi as Hoffman
 * Joe Manganiello as Flash Thompson
 * Michael Papajohn as The Carjacker
 * Lucy Lawless as a punk rock girl
 * Randy Savage as Bonesaw McGraw
 * Bruce Campbell as the Ring Announcer

Production
The film was shot in New York and Los Angeles, California.

Trivia

 * It has the biggest opening day for a non-sequel with $114 million. It is currently the 26th Highest Grossing film of all time worldwide. It grossed over $821,708,551. It is the third highest grossing Superhero film of all time, under Spider-Man 3 (2007) and The Dark Knight (2008).Spider-Man was a major commercial success, becoming the first film to pass the $100 million mark in a single weekend. With the release in the United States and Canada on May 3, 2002 on 7,500 screens at 3,615 theaters, the film earned $39,406,872 on its opening day, averaging $10,901 per theater ($5,524.25 per screen). The film earned a total of $114,844,116 during its opening weekend, averaging $31,769 per theater ($15,312.55 per screen) and became the fastest theatrical release to reach $100 million at the time, crossing the milestone in three days. Spider-Man also had the highest opening week in North America box office movie for a non-sequel, with $114 million, which was surpassed 8 years later by  Alice in Wonderland  in 2010. [52] The film's three-day record was later surpassed by  Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest  in 2006. [53]  Spider-Man also set an all-time record for the highest earnings in a single day with $43,622,264 on May 4, 2002, a record later surpassed by  Shrek 2  in 2004. The film stayed at the top position in its second weekend, dropping only 38% in its second weekend, grossing another $71,417,527, averaging $19,755.89 per theater ($9,522.34 per screen) and bringing the ten-day total to $223,040,031. The film dropped to the second position in its third weekend, behind  Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones , but still made $45,036,912, dropping only 37%, averaging $12,458 per theater, and bringing the seventeen-day tally to $285,573,668. It stayed at the second position in its fourth weekend, grossing $35,814,844 over the four-day Memorial Day frame, dropping only 21% while expanding to 3,876 theaters, averaging $9,240 over four days, and bringing the 25-day gross to $333,641,492. [54]  In the box office, Spider-Man became the highest-grossing film of 2002 with $403,706,375 in the United States and Canada, defeating  The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers  and Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. [55]  Spider-Man currently ranks as the  10th highest-grossing film of all time  in the U.S. and Canada. The film also grossed $821,708,551 worldwide, making it the third highest-grossing film of 2002 behind The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and  Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets , and currently placing it twenty sixth in worldwide box office ranks. [1]

International markets which generated grosses in excess of $10 million include Australia ($16.9 million), Brazil ($17.4 million), France, Algeria, Monaco, Morocco and Tunisia ($32.9 million), Germany ($30.7 million), Italy ($20.8 million), Japan ($56.2 million), Mexico ($31.2 million), South Korea ($16.98 million), Spain ($23.7 million), and the United Kingdom, Ireland and Malta ($45.8 million). [56]

Spider-Man became the highest-grossing superhero film of all time at the time of its release. Throughout the years none of the other superhero films including  Spider-Man 2  were able to outgross it. It was eventually outgrossed in 2007 by  Spider-Man 3 . In 2008, Spider-Man 3 was outgrossed by  The Dark Knight . Spider-Man currently ranks as the third highest-grossing superhero film of all time.

The film's United States television rights ( Fox, TBS / TNT ) were sold for $60 million. [57]  Related gross toy sales were $109 million. [57]  Its United States DVD revenue as of July 2004 stands at $338.8 million. [57]  Its United States VHS revenue as of July 2004 is $89.2 million. [57]