Company Credits [38] In early 2007, there were further pick-up shots regarding the resolution of Sandman's story, amounting to four different versions. Falling into an experimental particle accelerator that fuses his body with the surrounding sand, he gains the ability to control and reform his body with sand, becoming Sandman. This group designed specific computer programs that did not exist when Spider-Man 3 began production, creating nine hundred visual effects shots. [201], 2007 superhero film directed by Sam Raimi, Films listed as number-one by in-year release, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, List of accolades received by the 20022007 Spider-Man film series, "Talking (Spider) Sense with Thomas Haden Church", "Weaving the Web of 'Spider-Man 3', Part Two: Thomas Hayden Church, Topher Grace and Bryce Dallas Howard", "Interview: Avi Arad, Laura Ziskin, & Grant Curtis Spin Tales of 'Spider-Man 3', "Spider-Man 3 Interviews: Bryce Dallas Howard", "Exclusive Interview: Stan Lee Gets Superheroic Once Again For The Sci-Fi Channel", "Spider-Man 3 Interviews: Director Sam Raimi", "Exclusive Interview: Out with the Vulture & in with Venom: Grant Curtis Spider-Man 3 Producer Part 4", "Spider-Man's location manager knows a great city when he sees it", "Spider-Man 3 Director Geeks Out on His Movie's Real Star: Sand", "CafeFX Creates Crane Disaster for Spider-Man 3", "An Exclusive interview with Spider-Man! Release Dates It is the final installment in Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy, and the sequel to Spider-Man (2002) and Spider-Man 2 (2004). "[128] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 59 out of 100 based on 40 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [116] It also crushed Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire's record for scoring the biggest opening day in France, earning $6.8 million. [25] By the release of Spider-Man 2, a release date for Spider-Man 3 had been set for May 2, 2007 before production on the sequel had begun. [124] Russia and Ukraine both earned $7.4 million from 671 screens, dethroning The Da Vinci Code. After assaulting the bouncers and accidentally hitting Mary Jane, Peter realizes that the symbiote is corrupting him. Brock abducts Mary Jane and holds her captive from a web at a construction site, intending to kill her in revenge for Peter ruining him, while Marko keeps the police at bay. [57] Raimi approved the new themes during their first performance, but rejected the initial music to the birth of Sandman, finding it too monstrous and not tragic enough. Promotional tie-in partners include Burger King, 7-Eleven, General Mills, Kraft Foods, and Comcast. Raimi said in March 2009 that only the fourth film was in development at that time and that if there were fifth and sixth films, those two films would actually be a continuation of each other. The studio's release of a film in China before its domestic release was a first for Sony Pictures Releasing International. Stokdyk chose to design the miniature instead of using computer-generated imagery so damage done to the building could be portrayed realistically and timely without guesswork involving computer models. After Harry declines to help Peter, Harry's butler reveals that Norman's death was not Spider-Man's fault. Both a fourth and a fifth film were planned and at one time the idea of shooting the two sequels concurrently was under consideration. [30] With so many additions, Sargent soon found his script so complex that he considered splitting it into two films, but abandoned the idea when he could not create a successful intermediate climax. The price was based on the film's box office performance, with an option for three opportunities for Sony to sell the rights to one or more other broadcast networks.[82]. [85] Sam Raimi, Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Thomas Haden Church, Topher Grace, Bryce Dallas Howard, Laura Ziskin, Avi Arad, and Grant Curtis are among those who contributed to the audio commentaries. [24] Overall, Raimi described the film as being about Peter, Mary Jane, Harry, and the Sandman,[30] with Peter's journey being one of forgiveness. Don't let any of that get on you. [51], Danny Elfman, the composer for the previous installments, chose not to return for the third installment of Spider-Man because of difficulties with director Sam Raimi. During post-production, Sony Pictures Imageworks created over 900 visual effects shots. ", "Danny Elfman Makes Peace With Sam Raimi To Score 'Oz The Great and Powerful', "ScoreKeeper With Composer Christopher Young Re: The Challenges Of Scoring Spider-Man 3, Omitted Music From The Film, And More!! So at the end of these movies there's a dramatic resonance that really stays with the audience. [185] Raimi later expressed interest in doing so in April 2022, noting that another sequel to his Spider-Man trilogy was possible after the introduction of the Multiverse in Spider-Man: No Way Home and his MCU film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022). [59] This was followed by a second trailer, which was unveiled on March 9, 2007, being attached to the screenings of 300. Spider-Man 3 did not win any of the four Visual Effects Society Awards nominations it received. [190] A sequel, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, was released on May 2, 2014. [8] Thomas Haden Church revealed in a 2018 interview with JoBlo that the character of Vulture was considered to be an accomplice of Marko in the script. Dylan Baker portrays Dr. Curt Connors, a college physics professor under whom Peter Parker studies, while Willem Dafoe portrays Norman Osborn / Green Goblin, Harry's late father, who returns as a hallucination to encourage his son to destroy Spider-Man, and Cliff Robertson appears as Ben Parker, Peter's deceased uncle in his final acting appearance before his retirement and death in 2011. [184], Following the appearance of Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker in Spider-Man: No Way Home, a fan campaign has been trending on Twitter under the name #MakeRaimiSpiderMan4, calling for Sony to make a fourth film in the Spider-Man series directed by Sam Raimi with Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst. [24] Raimi felt that Harry would not follow his father's legacy, but be instead "somewhere between. Possibly after spiderman 3 Peter snuck into the lab, stole the vile it was in, and, I dunno, throw it into a smoke stack like the carnage symbiote in the ultimate comics, New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, **It's like Ask Science, but all questions and answers are written with answers gleaned from the universe itself. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Brock, having become addicted to its influence, attempts to save the symbiote, and both are vaporized. [148], John Hartl of MSNBC gave Spider-Man 3 a positive review, but stated that it has some flaws such as having "too many storylines". [49], When interviewed at the film's Tokyo premiere on April 16, 2007, Topher Grace said to Access Hollywood that despite liking how the film turned out, he expressed interest in having the rest of his scenes as both Eddie Brock and Venom being restored someday; later adding, "You know what? [105][106] It would hold the record for having the highest opening weekend for any film featuring Spider-Man until it was surpassed by Captain America: Civil War less than a decade later in 2016. Gwen, realizing she had been used, apologizes to Mary Jane and leaves. A reboot of the series titled The Amazing Spider-Man was released on July 4, 2012, with Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker. [145] Entertainment Weekly named the Sandman as the eighth best computer-generated film character. Sony also worked with Pringles Potato Crisp, Blu Tack, Jolly Time Pop Corn, and Nutella. Spider-Man 3 was released on Region 4 DVD (anamorphic widescreen) in Australia on September 18, 2007. Eddie Brock, Jr., the human part of Venom, serves as a mirror to Peter Parker, with both characters having similar jobs and romantic interests. Urged by a hallucination of his father, Harry recovers from his amnesia and forces Mary Jane to break up with Peter. Later, Peter brings Gwen to a jazz club where Mary Jane now works. [73], Spider-Man 3 was commercially released in sixteen territories on May 1, 2007. [40] For scenes involving visual effects, Thomas Haden Church was super-imposed onto the screen, where computer-generated imagery was then applied. [47] When animating the symbiote, Raimi did not want it to resemble a spider or an octopus, and to give it a sense of character. Despite being a commercial success, it was largely deemed inferior to the previous two films; critics praised the action sequences and visual effects, but were polarized over the plot and pacing, and also criticized the film's runtime and number of villains, most notably Venom. ", "E-notes: Swinging with the Composer of Spider-Man 3", "Coming attractions: NYC's spidey sense is tingling", "Spider-Man 3 to Break Records, Then Fail Miserably? Several actors reprise their roles from the previous films. Emo Peter Parker meme explained", "15 Most Underrated Superhero Movies Ever, Ranked", "National Movie Awards nominees revealed", "Tobey Maguire, Sam Raimi Sign On For 'Spider-Man 4': Report", "Sam Raimi Talks 'Spider-Man' Sequel Double-Shoot, Futures of Kirsten Dunst & The Lizard", "Spider-Man Tobey Maguire spins deal for fatherhood", "Sam Raimi 'Can't Imagine' Doing 'Spider-Man 4' Without Kirsten Dunst, Only Working On Fourth Film", "Sam Raimi Hopes To Start Shooting 'Spider-Man 4' In March 2010", "Exclusive: Lizard Leapin' Into Spidey 4? [151] Finally, Sean Burns of Philadelphia Weekly felt that the director "substituted scope and scale for the warmth and wit that made those two previous pictures so memorable". It seems to like you. Marko explains that Ben's death was an accident that has haunted him and that everything he has done was to help his daughter; Peter forgives Marko, allowing him to escape. [107] 15 years later in 2022, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness dethroned Spider-Man 3 for having the largest opening weekend for a Sam Raimi film. The perceived overcrowded narrative was later attributed to studio interference and creative differences between Sony, Raimi, and Arad. [70] Spider-Man 3 was also released in China on May 3, 2007 to circumvent market growth of unlicensed copies of the film. [113] When Shrek the Third opened two weeks later, Spider-Man 3 dropped into second place. [139] Andy Khouri of Comic Book Resources praised the film as "easily the most complex and deftly orchestrated superhero epic ever filmed despite the enormous amount of characters, action and sci-fi superhero plot going on in this film, Spider-Man 3 never feels weighted down, tedious or boring". Bill Nunn, Ted Raimi, Michael Papajohn, John Paxton, and Elizabeth Banks return as Joseph "Robbie" Robertson, a longtime employee at the Daily Bugle; Ted Hoffman, also a longtime employee of the Daily Bugle; Dennis "Spike" Carradine, the carjacker who was believed to have murdered Uncle Ben; Bernard Houseman, butler to the Osborn family; and Betty Brant, the receptionist at the Daily Bugle for J. Jonah Jameson, respectively. [143] Jonathan Dean of Total Film felt the film's complex plot helped the film's pacing, in that, "it rarely feels disjointed or loose Spider-Man cements its shelf-life". Marko then robs an armored truck and escapes after defeating Spider-Man.

[94] The film set a worldwide single-day record ($104 million) on its first Friday and broke its own record again on Saturday ($117.6 million). [53] Instead, Elfman chose to work with the 2006 reboot of Charlotte's Web. A fourth installment, titled Spider-Man 4, was set to be released on May 6, 2011, followed by a Venom spin-off film, but both were canceled. NYPD Captain George Stacy, Gwen's father, informs Peter and his aunt May that Marko is uncle Ben's true killer; the deceased Dennis Carradine was Marko's accomplice. The same steps had been taken for Spider-Man 2 to begin producing visual effects early for sequences involving the villain Doctor Octopus. [7] Worldwide, it is the third-highest-grossing film of 2007, the highest-grossing film of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy, and was the highest-grossing film distributed by Sony/Columbia until 2012's Skyfall. In Japan, it earned a total of $26.5 million, kicking the previous record held by The Matrix Reloaded. [16] Venom's alter-ego, Eddie Brock, already had a minor role in the script. Beginning with a partnership with Papa John's, Sony printed close to 8.5 billion impressions for pizza boxes, television, radio, and online ads. [23] Comedian Dean Edwards played one of the newspaper readers who badmouth Spider-Man. The film grossed $894.9 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. If the tiny symbiote mass is independent from the rest of the symbiote mass, a separate consciousness, It wouldn't have died when Spider-Man exterminated the bigger mass that bonded to Eddie Brock. [40], In addition to the innovative visual effects for the film, Stokdyk created a miniature of a skyscraper section at 1:16 scale with New Deal Studios' Ian Hunter and David Sanger. [78] It was the ninth film to play in more than 4,000 theaters upon opening, just after Shrek 2, Spider-Man 2, Shark Tale, Madagascar, Mission: Impossible III, Over the Hedge, Superman Returns and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. Harry and Peter reconcile before Harry dies from his injuries. [172][173][174][175] James Vanderbilt was hired in October 2007 to pen the screenplay after initial reports in January 2007 that Sony Pictures was in contact with David Koepp, who wrote the first Spider-Man film. [108] The film set record Friday[109] and Sunday grosses[110] and achieved the largest cumulative gross through its second, third, and fourth day of release (all were first surpassed by The Dark Knight). We felt it would be a great thing for him to learn a little less black and white view of life and that he's not above these people. It has the characteristics of a symbiote, which needs to bond to a host in order to survive. [96] The film's IMAX screenings reached $20 million in 30 days, faster than any other 2D film remastered in the format. In an attempt to make her jealous, Peter interrupts Mary Jane's performance and dances with Gwen in front of her. The tiny portion would've gone limp when Spider-Man annihilated the largest union of symbiote mass. Discovering that water is his weakness, he opens a pipe, releasing water that reduces Marko to mud and washes him away. During pre-production, Raimi originally wanted two villains, Harry Osborn and Sandman. [15], Raimi wanted another villain, and Ben Kingsley was involved in negotiations to play the Vulture before the character was cut. [95][96] It also set a worldwide opening-weekend record with $381.7 million. [50] Following the release of the film, fan research compiled deleted scenes and archival footage, showing Adrian Lester in the role of Dr. Wallace, a molecular biologist working on a cure for Marko's daughter, and an alternate death scene for Venom that would have revealed the symbiote had consumed Brock, leaving behind his skeletal remains and attempting to reattach itself to Parker, who in turn would have destroyed the symbiote by yanking down a sling of steel rods and creating a sonic attack (although this was depicted in the film's novelization). The website's critics consensus reads, "Though there are more characters and plotlines, and the action sequences still dazzle, Spider-Man 3 nonetheless isn't quite as refined as the first two. In India, it grossed $16.4 million and was the seventh-highest-grossing film of 2007 there. Technical Specs. She also received another nomination for Favorite Movie Actress from the 2008 Kids' Choice Awards ceremony. You know, with the extra scenes". 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, 2007. Peter activates a pumpkin bomb and throws it at the hostless symbiote. [60] The home video releases of Click and Monster House also contained trailers for Spider-Man 3. In all fairness, I'll take the guilt because of what Sam Raimi used to say in all of these interviews feeling guilty that I forced him into it". Official Sites [33] Shooting placed a strain on Raimi, who often had to move between several units to complete the picture. [48] When animating Venom himself, animators observed footage of big cats such as lions and cheetahs for the character's agile movements. This included $10 million from midnight showings. He considers himself a hero and a sinless person versus these villains that he nabs. Raimi purportedly went through four iterations of the script with different screenwriters and still "hated it". The unique campaign include a spider exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History, workshops on baby spider plants at the New York Botanical Garden, Green Goblin mask-making workshop at the Children's Museum of Manhattan, and a scavenger hunt and a bug show at Central Park Zoo.[63]. [7][98][99] The film sold an estimated 48,914,300 tickets.