The 2002–2007 Spider-Man film series, also called the Sam Raimi trilogy or the Tobey Maguire trilogy, is a superhero film series consisting of three Spider-Man films with the same director and main actor: Spider-Man (2002), Spider-Man 2 (2004) and Spider-Man 3 (2007). Based on the Marvel comic book series about the fictional character of the same name, all three films were directed by Sam Raimi and distributed by Columbia Pictures. Tobey Maguire plays Spider-Man, with Kirsten Dunst portraying his love interest, Mary Jane Watson, and James Franco concluding the principal cast with his role as Harry Osborn, Spider-Man's frenemy. Throughout the series, the Spider-Man releases featured villains such as Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe), Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina), Sandman (Thomas Haden Church) and Venom (Topher Grace). Other characters who appeared in the series are Betty Brant (Elizabeth Banks), J. Jonah Jameson (J. K. Simmons) and Gwen Stacy (Bryce Dallas Howard).
Every Spider-Man film was a financial success and achieved blockbuster status. Each installment was the third top-grossing film of their respective release years. In 2002, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets performed better than Spider-Man. For 2004, Shrek 2 and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban had grossed more than Spider-Man 2 and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix outdid Spider-Man 3s revenue. With a box office total of nearly $900 million, Spider-Man 3 stands as the highest-earning in the series and is the 31st highest-grossing film worldwide. The previous two entries sit at 41st and 48th in worldwide totals. The franchise made around $2.5 billion at the box office in ticket sales.
Overall, the film series received positive to polarized reception from critics. Spider-Man was released to largely positive reviews from the media, scoring an 89% rating based on a sample of 192 reviews on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes with an average of 7.6/10. The second entry performed even better with critics, garnering an approval rating of 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 8.2 out of 10. With 241 reviews accounted for, Rotten Tomatoes reported that Spider-Man 3 had an approval rating of 63% and a score of 6.2/10. Metacritic lists the third installment as having a 59% rating on its site. Spider-Man 2 was named the third best superhero film of all time by IGN and Time magazine.
Raimi's Spider-Man series won various awards and gathered five Academy Award nominations: two for Spider-Man and three for Spider-Man 2, with one win for Best Visual Effects in 2005 for Spider-Man 2. The series won two MTV Movie Awards out of ten nominations, five Saturn Awards out of thirteen nominations and four Teen Choice Awards out of fifteen nominations. The films were nominated for one Annie Award, five British Academy Film Awards, two Grammy Awards and ten Satellite Awards. Other honors came from the Visual Effects Society Awards, which gave the franchise ten nominations and three wins, as well as the Taurus World Stunt Awards, which nominated the films for three of their accolades. The American Film Institute named Spider-Man 2 one of the Best Movie Productions of 2004.
Spider-Man (2002)
The first film in the series, Spider-Man, was released in American theaters on May 3, 2002. Its plot follows Peter Parker (played by Tobey Maguire), a high school student in New York City who develops spider-like powers and begins fighting crime under the alias Spider-Man. During the course of the film, he seeks the attention of his love interest, Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst), and faces the malevolent Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe). By the end of its theatrical run, the film had grossed over $820 million.
The film's visual effects and sound were nominated by several award committees, including the Academy Awards, for being the best in film for that year. Danny Elfman work on the film's music earned him an accolade from BMI Film and TV Awards. The film's song "Hero", performed by Chad Kroeger, scored nominations from the Broadcast Film Critics Association and 45th Grammy Awards. Dunst's performance earned her both an Empire Award and an accolade from the viewer-voted 2003 MTV Movie Awards. She also shared an award from MTV for Best Kiss with Maguire, who was nominated for Best Male Performance at the same ceremony. The Golden Trailer Awards nominated the film's trailers for four awards and Spider-Mans stunt work earned it one nomination from the World Stunt Awards.
+ Award Date of ceremony Category Recipients Result Academy Awards March 23, 2003 Best Sound Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell and Ed Novick Best Visual Effects John Dykstra, Scott Stokdyk, Anthony LaMolinara and John Frazier BMI Film and TV Awards May 14, 2003 BMI Film Music Award Danny Elfman British Academy Film Awards February 23, 2003 Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects John Dykstra, Scott Stokdyk, John Frazier, Anthony LaMolinara, John Dykstra, Scott Stokdyk, John Frazier and Anthony LaMolinara Broadcast Film Critics Association January 17, 2003 Best Song Chad Kroeger ("Hero") Empire Awards February 5, 2003 Best Actress Kirsten Dunst Golden Trailer Awards March 14, 2002 Best Action Spider-Man Best Music Spider-Man Best of Show Spider-Man Best Voice Over Spider-Man Grammy Award February 23, 2003 Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media Danny Elfman Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media Chad Kroeger ("Hero") Hugo Awards August 30, 2003 Best Dramatic Presentation – Long Form Spider-Man Kids' Choice AwardsApril 12, 2003 Favorite Movie Spider-Man Favorite Movie Actress Kirsten Dunst Favorite Male Butt Kicker Tobey Maguire MTV Movie Awards May 31, 2003 Best Female Performance Kirsten Dunst Best Kiss Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst Best Male Performance Tobey Maguire Best Movie Spider-Man Best Villain Willem Dafoe People's Choice Awards January 12, 2003 Favorite Motion Picture Spider-Man Satellite Awards January 12, 2003 Best Film Editing Eric Zumbrunnen Best Visual Effects John Dykstra Saturn Awards May 18, 2003 Best Fantasy Film Spider-Man Best Actor Tobey Maguire Best Actress Kirsten Dunst Best Director Sam Raimi Best Music Danny Elfman Best Special Effects John Dykstra, Scott Stokdyk, Anthony LaMolinaraand John Frazier Teen Choice AwardsAugust 19, 2002Choice Movie: Drama/Action Adventure Spider-Man Choice Movie Actor: Drama/Action Adventure Tobey Maguire Choice Movie Actress: Drama/Action Adventure Kirsten Dunst Choice Movie Sleazebag Willem Dafoe Choice Movie Liplock Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst Choice Movie Hissy Fit Willem Dafoe World Soundtrack Awards October 19, 2002 Best Original Soundtrack of the Year – Orchestral Danny Elfman World Stunt Awards June 1, 2003 Best Fight Chris Daniels, Zach Hudson, Kim Kahana Jr., Johnny Nguyen and Mark Aaron Wagner Young Artist Awards March 29, 2003 Best Family Feature Film - Fantasy Spider-Man
Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Spider-Man 2 opened in American theaters on June 30, 2004. The plot follows Peter as he struggles to manage both his personal life and his crime-fighting as Spider-Man, while encountering Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina), a scientist who goes insane as the result of a failed experiment. Spider-Man 2 was less successful than Spider-Man in its first week of release, taking first place at the box office with around $88 million at 4,152 theaters. Nonetheless, it set several box office records at the time and broke the record for best opening day ever, previously held by Spider-Man. It eventually earned more than $783 million worldwide but still stands as the lowest-grossing film of the trilogy. However, according to review aggregators Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic, Spider-Man 2 is the most well-reviewed of the three Raimi films.
Out of the film's three Academy Award nominations, Spider-Man 2 was awarded Best Visual Effects. At the 58th British Academy Film Awards, the sequel's sound and visual effects were nominated. A third nomination was for Orange Film of the Year, a category for the 10 biggest United Kingdom box office hits, voted by the public. The film itself also won the Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards's Best Popular Movie honor and was named one of 2004's best pictures by the American Film Institute committee. Spider-Man 2 swept the 31st Saturn Awards with eight nominations and four wins. Maguire and Raimi respectively picked up the Best Actor and Best Director awards and the film was named 2004's Best Fantasy Film. Its writing, supporting performance by Molina and music were among other aspects the Saturn Awards nominated Spider-Man 2 for. At the 2005 MTV Movie Awards, Molina got another nomination, this time for Best Villain. The award show also nominated the sequel for its Best Movie Honor. Another awards organization to honor Molina's portrayal of Doctor Octopus were the London Film Critics Circle Awards, who nominated him for the year's Best Supporting Actor. The 10th Empire Awards gave Raimi his second accolade for his direction on Spider-Man 2. Its overall featured stunt work won it a World Stunt Award and its visual effects scored Spider-Man 2 six Visual Effects Society Award nominations.