Noticed I said look...
















not act... (just click play)

The world's moviegoers were caught in the web of Columbia Pictures' Spider-Man 3 at the global box office this weekend as the film grossed $382 million worldwide, the highest opening ever in motion picture history, it was announced today by Jeff Blake, vice chairman, Sony Pictures Entertainment. Of that, $231 million was tallied from international ticket sales, with $151 million coming from the film's record-setting debut in North America. Playing in 4,252 domestic locations, the film took in an average of $35,540 per screen. The film also unspooled at more than 8,900 locations abroad.

In addition to being #1 for the weekend in all 107 territories around the world in which it opened, Spider-Man 3 set a new mark for the biggest weekend of all time in 29 countries, including the United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, China, Italy, Mexico, and Brazil. Among its many accomplishments, the film set new records for the biggest single worldwide day (Saturday, May 5 - $117,631,328), biggest international opening ($231 million), and biggest worldwide opening ($382 M).

Many of the opening frame records were broken by astounding margins. In Korea, Spider-Man 3 did three times the business of the previous record holder (Korean film The Host) and bested the previous-best Hollywood film (The Matrix Reloaded) by more than four times. In Japan, Spider-Man 3 broke the old record opening weekend by 44%; in Brazil, by 48%, in Mexico by 37%; and in Italy, the film beat the previous record holder The DaVinci Code by 24%.

Among the domestic records set by Spider-Man 3 are biggest opening weekend ($151,116,516), biggest single day (Friday, $59,841,919), and biggest per-theater average for a wide release ($35,540). The film also set a new record for the largest domestic gross in IMAX theaters, with $4.8 million.

Commenting on the announcement, Blake said, "This weekend, more than 80% of the moviegoers around the world chose 'Spider-Man 3' and we couldn't be more overwhelmed or elated by the global reception to this movie. We have always strived to deliver films with great stories that would excite and entertain audiences and credit for that goes first and foremost to our filmmakers and cast: director Sam Raimi, our partners at Marvel, our producers Laura Ziskin, Avi Arad, and Grant Curtis, and our stars Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Thomas Haden Church, and Topher Grace. 'Spider-Man 3' builds on the first two films and satisfies the extraordinary expectations of fans everywhere. This was truly a massive achievement not only for Sony Pictures, but the film industry as a whole. Summer is finally here and we expect that moviegoers everywhere will find that the 2007 season will be one to remember."

Spectacular, But Not Perfect

10:50am on May 1 Labor Day here in the Philippines, one of the first showings of Spider-Man 3 finally came. It was a long wait since part two, and the expectations for this one was high due to it being the trilogy wrap up episode where every story arc is tied up. Add to that the much awaited debut of fan-favorite villain Venom and the hype for this movie was at fever pitch.

Could part 3 possibly live up to the acclaim of the first two films? For me, a die-hard Spidey fan, the answer is yes and no. Since i like saving the good for last, let's start out with what didn't work:

the wRong
The dance number. For those who haven't seen, I am not kidding. It seemed a bit campy and indulgent of director Sam Raimi to execute this scene that way. Another thing that I was worried about was the abundance of characters in this movie. While I enjoyed seeing Gwen Stacy and Eddie Brock for the first time, I honestly could have waited for them until another movie and just focus on Green Goblin 2 and the Sandman, BUT teasing a Venom appearance for a full-blown story in 'hopefully' a part four. In fact, in the original script, Raimi didn't have Venom at all because he loved classic villains like Sandman more than fan-favorites. Marvel Films producer Avi Arad told Raimi to "listen to the fans" and give them the much beloved Venom on screen... but in this case, I'd have to agree with Raimi. While I love the character myself, and his 20 minutes of screen time was some awesome CGI eye candy, I still stand by my opinion that they could have saved him and not be 'rushed' into the franchise just to sell more merchandise.

It was a Herculean task to fit all these new characters, three villains, and the black costume into one movie, and while it succeeded to a certain degree, it made each element in the movie less special than what it should be. Little things that peeved me were the origin of the Symbiote (where did it come from? I read somewhere that it came from a space mission of John Jameson, but this wasn't explained in the movie) and the sand experiment. I guess I was used to well-done origins in the first two movies, that this one felt a little more 'they get powers cause it's convenient'. The Venom origin though is straight from the comics, so at least that was ok. Oh, and one last thing to put in this section was the HORRIBLE British news reporter in the end... just bad.

the Right:
Ok, now that I got all that criticism out, it's time to totally mark out for Spidey. As always, the cast was awesome. From the supporting roles of Aunt May and J.J. Jameson, newcomers Eddie Brock (Topher Grace), Sandman (Thomas Hayden Church), Gwen Stacy (Bryce Dallas Howard), and the core of Peter/Spidey (Maguire), MJ (Dunst), and Harry (Franco) - the cast delivered big time in this movie. Harry in particular is the standout in my opinion, as he struggles the line between friend and villain. Maguire is great as always, as he runs the gamut from geek, to dickhead, to best friend, lover, and of course, hero. Although his dark 'emo' look when influenced by the black costume is kinda funny. Another thing that goes into this section are the effects. This is easily the most spectacular Spidey yet - the scene where Sandman arises and virtually every scene with Venom are just awesome and I'll definitely watch over and over again on DVD. Another thing I liked was the motives of the villains. No one is trying to take over the world here - Goblin2 and Venom want to destroy Parker for personal grudges, and Sandman just wants to rob banks to save what's most important to him, no cockimaney plot to make land out of alien rocks and make profits from real estate (Luthor from Superman Returns). Speaking of villains, while I'm sort of iffy about Venom appearing here, there's no doubt that I enjoyed what was there. Grace did a great job in the role, and I think was more effective and creepier when he reveals his face in the Venom suit.

Another thing I loved was the final battle, which was truly epic and really tied up a lot of things for both Parker and Spider-Man. Oh, and someone that deserves to be in this section is Bruce Campbell who steals a scene for the third film in a row as the arrogant 'French' restaurant clerk.

The veRdict:
Overall, it was a satisfying conclusion to the Spider-Man trilogy. It saddens me that it may be the last one with Raimi, Dunst, and Maguire involved. Their contracts are only for a 3 picture deal, and Maguire was stated that he'd like to move on from the franchise unless there's something really interesting to keep him on board. The movie delivers in the effects department and in tying up loose threads, while comes up short in letting the numerous amount of new characters develop and shine. To me, Spider-Man 2 is the best in the series because of the fewer characters and cohesive script. Plus, nothing tops MJ seeing Spidey unmasked for the first time as the greatest Spider-Man movie moment to me. Spider-Man 3 is definitely a great time, whether you're a casual fan or hardcore geek, there's plenty to love about part 3. Here's hoping to more Spidey flicks in the future!