SPIDER-MAN 3 Returns To Theaters For First Time Since 2007 And Picks Up A Surprising Victory

Spider-Man 3 swung back into theaters yesterday evening as part of Sony Pictures' "Spider-Mondays," but how did the re-release's opening day compare to Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2. You may be surprised...

By JoshWilding - Apr 30, 2024 11:04 AM EST

Filed Under: Spider-Man 3

Spider-Man 3 became the latest movie featuring the web-slinger to return to theaters yesterday evening. Sony Pictures' "Spider-Mondays" are part of the studio's 100th-anniversary celebrations, giving fans the chance to experience Spidey's adventures on the big screen either again or for the first time.

While Spider-Man 3 is typically considered the worst of Sam Raimi's trilogy, it swung to an impressive $760,000 at the U.S. box office yesterday in just 466 venues.

To compare, Spider-Man opened to $680,000 in 466 U.S. theaters two weeks ago and the classic Spider-Man 2 made $805,000 in 467 of them. The sequel taking the top spot isn't a surprise, but Spider-Man 3 clearly has more fans than we realised.

The movie had the biggest per theater average with $1,600, beating even new releases.

Spider-Man 3 was originally released in 2007 and starred Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, alongside Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watson, James Franco as Harry Osborn/New Goblin, and Thomas Haden Church as Flint Marko/Sandman. The movie also introduced the character of Eddie Brock/Venom, portrayed by Topher Grace.

The threequel saw Peter grapple with the dual responsibilities of being Spider-Man and maintaining his personal life. His relationship with Mary Jane becomes strained as he struggles with his increasing ego and the dark influence of the alien symbiote, which enhances his powers but also amplifies his aggression and arrogance.

Meanwhile, three new villains emerge: Flint Marko, who becomes the Sandman after a scientific experiment goes wrong; Eddie Brock, a rival photographer who becomes Venom after bonding with the same symbiote that affects Peter; and the New Goblin, a vengeful Harry looking to take revenge for his father's death at Spidey's hands.

Most fans agree that Spider-Man 3 was overstuffed, with too many villains and none of them being done the justice they deserve on screen. Still, the threequel made $895 million worldwide during its original run and holds a so-so 63% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Raimi has expressed disappointment with how the movie turned out and freely admits that he wasn't keen on adding Venom to the mix. Spider-Man 4 was supposed to follow - with the spotlight put on The Vulture, Black Cat, Lizard, and "Vulturess" - but creative differences with Sony saw the filmmaker leave the project. The Amazing Spider-Man then rebooted the franchise in 2012.

Did you watch Spider-Man 3 in theaters yesterday?

I’m telling you, #SamRaimi still has it, folks!#TobeyMaguire’s #SpiderMan3 reissue came back in just 466 theatres at US #BoxOffice on MON to celebrate #Sony film division’s 100th anniversary. And even that one felt the love, as the last of the first #SpiderMan trilogy was #2… pic.twitter.com/wMDR022KSR
— Luiz Fernando (@Luiz_Fernando_J) April 30, 2024

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25 Comments

IAmAHoot - 4/30/2024, 11:58 AM

Say what you want, but I still had a blast watching it in theaters back when it was released.

dragon316 - 4/30/2024, 8:26 PM

@IAmAHoot - my only disappointment see it in theaters venom was not big that he was in comics

WhatIfRickJames - 4/30/2024, 12:01 PM

As much as people hem and haw about this movie, it is thoroughly entertaining. Sandman was great. Evil Peter is so bad he's good. It's just Harry and Eddie that stink and even then I can tolerate it.

TheVisionary25 - 4/30/2024, 12:07 PM

@WhatIfRickJames - even that opening fight with Harry is pretty fun imo.

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Doomsday8888 - 4/30/2024, 12:02 PM

I grew up watching the 90ies Spidey TAS, so when this scene dropped:

I f*cking lost it. :D

To this day i think the Raimi movies aged pretty well, had Singer used colorful costumes for his X-Men i would say the same for the FoX-Men as well actually but heh...

The blueprint was there to follow, which makes it sad af that the MCU Spidey never f*cking clicked with me, forget the writing or acting for a minute, you would think that years later after Spider-man 3 the VFX, choreography and web-slinging alone could take Spidey far away in terms of wow-factor compared to the old movies and yet???? Complete opposite, f*cking crazy.

You hate to see it.

DarthOmega - 4/30/2024, 3:00 PM

@Doomsday8888 - After watching the masterpiece that was Spider-Man 2 I was so hyped for this. Online trailer culture wasn't as pronounced as it is nowadays. No big reactions or anything. So most of the trailers I saw back then were seen in theaters. I had no idea they were gonna show this. So imagine my surprise when it came on. The part in the trailer when he first gets the suit, and the choir was chanting that epic sound... CHILLS

The movie didn't live up to the hype I gave it, but I was nowhere near as sour on it as everyone else seemed to be. I was one of the very few defending the movie back then... Most of it anyway

Origame - 4/30/2024, 12:04 PM

Can't wait for us to watch this often considered trash film then realize it surpasses like 99% of Hollywood films today 🤣

TheVisionary25 - 4/30/2024, 12:07 PM

Cool!!.

I still think it’s the weakest of the 3 but it has its moments & highlights…

Man I do genuinely miss this era of cbms , just felt more simple i guess.

MisterDoctor217 - 4/30/2024, 12:10 PM

I’m not going to lie , seeing this movie back then , as a kid, I walked out very dissatisfied and with an empty feeling after watching the movie.

It was probably the most hyped for a movie I ever was a kid. And the story didn’t sit right with me. No big final swing across the city ? Peter ending embraced with MJ in a solemn dance ?

Harry dying ?

But now looking back at it, it is a great movie , at least for me.

The only thing I don’t like and wish they had never changed was Flint Marko being the accidental killer of uncle Ben.

FireandBlood - 4/30/2024, 12:16 PM

Dune crossed 700M 🙌🏽

SheepishOne - 4/30/2024, 12:27 PM

People like to pretend Spider-Man 3 isn't a good movie. It just followed the greatest superhero movie of all time and was a bit overstuffed for its runtime. It's still better than most of the recycled superhero stuff we get today. It's solid, and thoroughly entertaining.

TheVisionary25 - 4/30/2024, 12:33 PM

@SheepishOne - I still hesitate to call it good but it’s certainly not as bad as some make it out to be.

SheepishOne - 4/30/2024, 12:59 PM

@TheVisionary25 - "Good" is definitely relative, but for my money, SM3 is a good time.

I think if Venom was saved for number 4, and SM3 was just Peter dealing with the symbiote fighting Sandman and Harry, it would have been a much stronger movie. Also, make Harry either GG2 or Hobgoblin in this, instead of snowboard goblin.

The finale could have been Peter ringing the bell to tear off the symbiote before swinging over to fight Sandman with Harry, and then have a post-credits or final scene of the symbiote falling onto Eddie, which would lead right into SM4.

There's a lot of greatness in SM3, it's just all too rushed and bloated to be as impactful as it tries to be.

TheVisionary25 - 4/30/2024, 1:06 PM

@SheepishOne - I agree

I do think Sony just should have left Raimi well enough alone and just gave him do Sandman and Harry like he wanted.

EskimoJ - 4/30/2024, 1:11 PM

@SheepishOne - Better than the stuff today doesn't mean it's good, unless you're stating the stuff today is good.

Th3Batman - 4/30/2024, 12:30 PM

"Spider-Man 3 clearly has more fans than we realized"

People may have come to appreciate it over the years, especially compared to the mediocrity that came after it.

Nomis929 - 4/30/2024, 12:35 PM

I'm glad it's doing good.. but it was one of the biggest disappointments I ever had watching a movie second only to 'Batman and Robin'.

Never Forget!

marvel72 - 4/30/2024, 12:57 PM

The only things I like about this movie is the action scenes,the first fight with The Sandman is a classic and of course they introduce us to the black costume and the hottest Gwen Stacy.

Timerider - 4/30/2024, 1:21 PM

Tobey was happy because he wasn’t playing nerdy Peter in this film, he got to play the A-hole. It was fun and different

Gambito - 4/30/2024, 1:57 PM

Then it’s all downhill, I can’t imagine many people turning up for the TASM movies (maybe 2 will do decent). People only care about the original trilogy and No way home and even that I doubt NWH will make much considering it’s the second Re-release in less than 4 years

ObserverIO - 4/30/2024, 3:46 PM

I unapologetically love this flawed but brilliant movie.

gtabreaker - 4/30/2024, 4:24 PM

TheOtherOn - 4/30/2024, 5:41 PM

Lets not kid ourselves, we all know the reason why!

ANewPope - 4/30/2024, 6:43 PM

I'll never forget when everybody cheered at this part

Radders - 5/1/2024, 2:48 AM

I've always enjoyed SM3, its got some problems and Peter forgiving Sandman makes no sense but it a fun time

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