Spider-Man Spins a Big Web on Opening Day
UPDATE: May 5, 2014—The Amazing Spider-Man 2 wrapped the weekend with an estimated $92 million at the box office. Not a bad haul. But if we rewind back to 2002 and the first Spider-Man starring Tobey Maguire, we remember that movie made a whopping $114.8 million on its opening weekend in early May… and that’s without 3D premium ticket prices and lower overall admission fees. Are we tiring of superheroes?
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 spun a big web on opening day earning an estimated $35.5 million. While it couldn’t catch up with Captain America: The Winter Soldier ($36.9 million), the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man looks like it will still be popular with audiences who’ve been inundated with his image in all kinds of advertising.
Frankly it’s hard not to notice the superhero. Spider-Man is selling shoes for a national shoe store. He’s showing up in fast food franchises and thanks to a promotion that runs through May, the nerdy science superhero is even in an ad for the United States Postal Service. This month Spider-Man can be seen delivering a Priority Mail package to none other than Stan Lee, one of the creators of Marvel Comics.
So what makes Spider-Man so popular over 50 years after he first appeared in the pages of a Marvel Comic book? Unlike many other superheroes that come from alien planets or have millions of dollars at their disposal, Peter Parker is someone many fans—especially teens—can relate to. He is on a high school fieldtrip when he’s bit by the scientifically altered arachnid. As if puberty weren’t already hard enough, Peter has to figure out how to control his new web-spinning wrists and swing between New York skyscrapers as well as do homework, help with household chores and keep up with his part-time job. The awkward teen also has a huge crush on a girl at school, but letting Gwen know how he feels is hard. In other words, Peter Parker is kind of an average teenager. Maybe that is what makes him so easy to connect with.
