Spider-Man 3

Spider-Man 3
Spider-Man in the rain in his original suit looks at a reflection of himself wearing his black suit in the window of a building, with the film's slogan, title, release date and credits below.
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySam Raimi
Screenplay by
Story by
  • Sam Raimi
  • Ivan Raimi
Based on
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyBill Pope
Edited byBob Murawski
Music byChristopher Young
Production
companies
Distributed bySony Pictures Releasing[1]
Release dates
Running time
139 minutes[3]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$258–350 million[4][5][6]
Box office$895 million[7]

Spider-Man 3 is a 2007 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. Produced by Columbia Pictures, Marvel Studios, and Laura Ziskin Productions, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing, it was directed by Sam Raimi from a screenplay he co-wrote with his brother Ivan and Alvin Sargent. It is the third and final installment in Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy, and the sequel to Spider-Man (2002) and Spider-Man 2 (2004). The film stars Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker / Spider-Man, alongside Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Thomas Haden Church, Topher Grace, Bryce Dallas Howard, James Cromwell, Rosemary Harris, and J. K. Simmons. It also marks the final acting appearance of Cliff Robertson before his retirement in the same year and his subsequent death in 2011.

Set a year after the events of Spider-Man 2, the film follows Peter Parker as he prepares for his future with Mary Jane Watson, while facing Uncle Ben's true killer, Flint Marko, who becomes Sandman after a freak accident, and Harry Osborn, his former best friend, who is now aware of Peter's identity and seeks to avenge his father; his job at the Daily Bugle is threatened by the presence of a rival photographer named Eddie Brock. Peter also faces his greatest challenge when he bonds with an extraterrestrial symbiote that increases his abilities but amplifies his anger and other negative traits.

Development of Spider-Man 3 began immediately after the successful release of Spider-Man 2 for a 2007 release. During preproduction, Raimi wanted two villains, Harry Osborn and Sandman. At the request of producer Avi Arad, he added Venom to the list, and the producers also requested the addition of Gwen Stacy. Principal photography for the film began in January 2006 and took place in Los Angeles and Cleveland before moving to New York City from May until July 2006. Additional pick-up shots were made after August and the film wrapped in October 2006. During post-production, Sony Pictures Imageworks created over 900 visual effects shots. Composer Danny Elfman, who had scored the previous installments, decided not to return due to creative differences and conflicts with Raimi during production of the previous film, so Christopher Young composed the score in Elfman's absence. With an estimated production budget of $258–350 million, the film was the most expensive film ever made at the time of its release.

Spider-Man 3 premiered on April 16, 2007, in Tokyo, and was released in the United States in both conventional and IMAX theaters on May 4. The film grossed $895 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing film of the trilogy, the third-highest-grossing film of 2007 and was the highest-grossing Spider-Man film until it was surpassed by Spider-Man: Far From Home in 2019. Unlike the previous installments, Spider-Man 3 received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the action sequences and visual effects, but were divided over the plot and pacing, while criticizing the film's number of villains.

A fourth installment, titled Spider-Man 4, was set to be released on May 6, 2011, followed by a Venom spin-off film, along with a fifth and sixth installment, titled Spider-Man 5 and Spider-Man 6 respectively, but all were canceled. The Spider-Man film series was rebooted twice; first with The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) by Marc Webb and starring Andrew Garfield; and later a new film series set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) directed by Jon Watts and starring Tom Holland, beginning with Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017). Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) explored the concept of the multiverse to connect the previous films and characters to the MCU with Maguire and Church reprising their roles in the film. A Venom film and sequel featuring another version of the Eddie Brock character was eventually produced and released in 2018 and 2021, respectively.

  1. ^ a b "Spider-Man 3". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Archived from the original on February 9, 2019. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Spider-Man 3". The Numbers. Archived from the original on February 9, 2019. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
  3. ^ "Spider-Man 3". British Board of Film Classification. Archived from the original on October 19, 2016. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  4. ^ Garrett, Diane (April 16, 2007). "Red carpet becoming more global". Variety. Archived from the original on August 27, 2020. Retrieved April 17, 2007.
  5. ^ "'Spider-Man 3': Why So Expensive?". NPR. April 30, 2007. Archived from the original on May 18, 2016. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  6. ^ Fred Topel (May 7, 2007). ""SPIDER-MAN 3" PRODUCER EXPLAINS BIGGER BUDGET". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on December 5, 2017. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference BOM was invoked but never defined (see the help page).