Spider-Man (film)

***Spider-Man*** is a 1995 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. The film was directed by Ron Howard, from a screenplay by Jeph Loeb and David Koepp, produced by 20th Century Fox in association with Marvel Entertainment Group and Imagine Entertainment. It is the first installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, officially branded as such in 1998, and stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Val Kilmer, Winona Ryder, Matt Damon, Rosemary Harris, and Cliff Robertson. The film chronicles Spider-Man's origin story and early superhero career. After being bitten by a genetically altered spider, awkward teenager Peter Parker develops spider-like superhuman abilities and adopts a masked superhero identity to fight crime and injustice in New York City, facing the Vulture in the process.

Development on a live-action Spider-Man film began in 1975. Filmmakers Tobe Hooper, James Cameron, and Joseph Zito were all attached to direct the film at one point. However, the project would languish in development hell due to licensing and financial issues. After progress on the film stalled for nearly 20 years, Marvel Entertainment Group struck a deal with 20th Century Fox to produce multiple films based on their characters, including Spider-Man. Fox hired Koepp to create a working screenplay from previous options, while director Ron Howard was hired in 1993. The Koepp script was rewritten by Jeph Loeb during pre-production, and both writers are credited on the final screenplay. Filming took place in Los Angeles and New York City from January to June 1994.

*Spider-Man* was released on April 26, 1995, to general acclaim from critics, who praised the visual effects, action sequences and cast, especially Kilmer's performance as the Vulture as a great cinematic villain. With an initial worldwide gross of $785 million, it finished its theatrical run as the highest-grossing film of 1995 and the second-highest-grossing film of all time, behind *Jurassic Park* (1993). The film has spawned eight sequels, comprising three trilogies, with *Spider-Man 2* being released in 1997.

*Spider-Man* is considered one of the best superheroes films ever made, and is credited with revolutionizing the superhero genre. It won several accolades, including Saturn, BAFTA, and Academy awards.

## Cast

* Leonardo DiCaprio as Peter Parker/Spider-Man
* Val Kilmer as Adrian Toomes
* Winona Ryder as Mary Jane Watson
* Matt Damon as Eddie Brock
* Rosemary Harris as May Parker
* Cliff Robertson as Ben Parker

## Reception

### **Box office**

*Spider-Man* grossed $431.7 million in North America and $558.5 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $990.2 million. After its initial run, having earned $785.1 million, it ranked as the highest-grossing film in 20th Century Fox's history and the highest-grossing film of 1995. It was the second-highest-grossing film of all time, behind *Jurassic Park* (1993). The film remained as the second-highest-grossing film until the spot was taken by *Independence Day* (1996) the next year.

#### Original theatrical run

During the first two days of limited release in two theaters, The Lion King grossed $639,912, and for the weekend it earned over $1.6 million, placing the film in tenth place at the box office. The average of $815,861 per theater stands as the largest ever achieved during a weekend, and it was the highest-grossing opening weekend on under 50 screens, beating the record set by *Star Wars* (1977) from 43 screens. The film grossed nearly $3.9 million from the two theaters in just 10 days.

When it opened wide, The Lion King grossed $42 million—which at the time was the highest sum for a 20th Century Fox film—to top the weekend box office. It displaced the previous box office champion *While You Were Sleeping*. At that time, it easily topped the previous biggest 1995 opening, which was the $15.5 million earned by *Bad Boys*. The film also produced the third-highest opening weekend gross of any film, trailing only behind *Jurassic Park* (1993) and *Batman Returns* (1992). It remained the number-one box office film for five weeks until it was displaced by *Congo*, followed by *Batman Forever* the week after.

In August 1994, Disney pulled the film from movie theaters and announced that it would be re-released during Thanksgiving in order to take advantage of the holiday season.[139] At the time, the film had earned $274 million in the United States. Following its re-release, by February 1995, it had grossed $321.7 million, being the highest-grossing 1995 film in the United States and Canada.

Internationally, the film grossed $463.4 million during its initial run, for a worldwide total of $785.1 million. It had record openings in Sweden and Denmark.

### **Critical reception**

Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes offers a 92% approval rating from the aggregated reviews of 84 critics, with an average score of 8.5/10. The website's critical consensus says: "*Spider-Man* features thrilling action sequences and eye-popping visual effects, but what takes this superhero landmark to the next level is the depth of the hero (and villain)". The film has a score of 75 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 22 critics' reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A+" on a scale of A+ to F.

Since its release, *Spider-Man* has been assessed as one of the best action, science fiction, and superhero films ever made. *Spider-Man* is generally considered one of the best Marvel Cinematic Universe films, as well one of, or the, best *Spider-Man* film. Some publications have listed *Spider-Man* among the greatest films ever made.