Ranking All of the 'Spider-Man' Movies
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There aren't many film franchises in history that can compare with the series of movies featuring the beloved comic book character Spider-Man.
It's a massive oeuvre of films that now stretches back 20 years and features three different actors playing the role of teenager Peter Parker, bitten by a radioactive spider and given powers that make him one of the most powerful superheroes of all time.
The "Spider-Man" movies have had some incredible highs and stunning lows. With an ever-expanding roster of films on the way, here's a look at how the 13 movies we've seen so far rank.
Warning: This article contains major spoilers on every movie in the "Spider-Man" film franchise.
13. Spider-Man 3
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Date released: May 4, 2007
Director: Sam Raimi
Starring: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Thomas Haden-Church, James Franco, Topher Grace, J.K. Simmons, Bryce Dallas Howard
Budget: $250 million-$300 million
Box office: $894.8 million
Streaming: Peacock
Bottom Line: Spider-Man 3
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Expectations were huge for "Spider-Man 3" following the critical and commercial success of "Spider-Man 2," which is why the abject awfulness of this campy, corny film still has us scratching our heads.
What really broke the hearts of Spider-Man fans around the world was Raimi's failure to nail Venom, the villain from the Spider-Man rogue's gallery that we wanted to see onscreen the most.
To be clear, nothing in the "Spider-Man" cinematic oeuvre is as despised as the Tobey Maguire dancing scene in this movie. Noth-ing.
What Happened Next: Spider-Man 3
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"Spider-Man 3" was so troubled and reviled upon its release it shut down the franchise for five years, a la the disastrous "Batman and Robin" in 1997.
Here's how much confidence Sony had in the "Spider-Man" franchise directly leading up to the release of "Spider-Man 3." Raimi and the rest of the cast were already in the script and planning stages for two more sequels that would have featured Dr. Curt Connors/The Lizard and Vulture as villains along with the introduction of Felicia Hardy as Black Cat.
Then, Sony said, "Not so fast."
12. The Amazing Spider-Man 2
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Date released: May 2, 2014
Director: Marc Webb
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane Dehaan, Paul Giamatti, Sally Field
Budget: $290 million
Box office: $709 million
Streaming: FX Now
Bottom Line: The Amazing Spider-Man 2
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Andrew Garfield could very well end up being one of the greatest actors of his generation. Just check out "Hacksaw Ridge" or "Under the Silver Lake" to see what we mean.
That being said, even those talents couldn't save this horrendous sequel, which featured too many villains and not enough plot. Although the way that director Marc Webb pulled off the Gwen Stacy death scene was fantastic.
Everything else was bad.
What Happened Next: The Amazing Spider-Man 2
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Here's what happens when you have a planned trilogy, but the second movie doesn't make as much as the first movie — you don't get to make a trilogy.
"The Amazing Spider-Man 2" made $50 million less than the original film thanks to a staggeringly negative reaction from critics and fans once it hit theaters. Add in the fact that it cost an estimated $100 million more than the original to film and you've got a problem.
Not only did this film's performance kill the trilogy, it killed off what Sony hoped would become an eventual "Spider-Man" cinematic universe featuring standalone movies about the Sinister Six and Black Cat.
The movie's stars have done just fine. Emma Stone won an Academy Award for Best Actress for "La La Land," and Garfield's starring role in "Hacksaw Ridge" earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.
11. Avengers: Endgame
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Date released: April 26, 2019
Director: The Russo Brothers
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Josh Brolin, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Paul Rudd, Don Cheadle, Brie Larson, Karen Gillan, Tom Holland
Budget: $400 million
Box office: $2.798 billion
Streaming: Disney+
Bottom Line: Avengers: Endgame
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We want to be super-duper clear about why "Avengers: Endgame" is so low on this list — because Spider-Man is only in it for about the last 10-15 minutes, aside from Tony Stark and Captain America getting all weepy because he got taken in The Snap.
As a film on its own, "Endgame" is one of the best to come out of the MCU. As a movie featuring Spider-Man, it's lacking the webslinger for a good reason, and when he comes back for the final battle, it's pretty impactful and emotional.
Oh, and "Endgame" also made almost $3 billion at the box office.
What Happened Next: Avengers: Endgame
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"Avengers: Endgame" had other issues of cinematic importance for the "Spider-Man" film franchise — mainly that it set Peter Parker up to become the central character in the MCU following the death of Tony Stark/Iron Man.
And if you think this was the final film of the MCU Infinity Saga — 23 films from 2008 to 2019 — you'd be wrong. It was actually "Spider-Man: Far From Home" that came out in July 2019 and capped off the saga.
10. The Amazing Spider-Man
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Date released: July 3, 2012
Director: Marc Webb
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Martin Sheen, Sally Field
Budget: $200 million
Box office: $758 million
Streaming: Amazon Prime ($)
Bottom Line: The Amazing Spider-Man
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Andrew Garfield got a crash course in being a big-time movie star when he was cast as Spider-Man following the success of "The Social Network." And you can make an argument it hurt his career as much as anything else.
Garfield was great in the role, but we thought Logan Lerman was a pretty obvious choice to play Peter Parker because, well, he actually looked like a teenager. One thing that "The Amazing Spider-Man" got right was that it didn't try to do too much.
It's also hopefully the last time we have to see Peter's Uncle Ben die on film. And let's go ahead and say it — this movie has the best Spider-Man costume.
What Happened Next: The Amazing Spider-Man
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"The Amazing Spider-Man" performed well enough at the box office and was enough of a hit with critics that a sequel was greenlit quickly, although it did little to generate optimism among Spider-Man fans that it would be good.
Call it "Spider-Man 3" fallout if you will, but faith in a sequel in the franchise, at the time, didn't seem like a sure thing, and when they shoveled the steaming heap of "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" on audiences, we were proven right.
9. Spider-Man: Homecoming
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Date released: July 7, 2017
Director: Jon Watts
Starring: Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Jacob Batalon, Marisa Tomei, Jon Favreau, Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Zendaya, Laura Harrier
Budget: $175 million
Box office: $880.2 million
Streaming: Amazon ($)
Bottom Line: Spider-Man: Homecoming
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The first standalone movie featuring Tom Holland as Spider-Man was still considered a bit of a risk with an unproven star and an unproven director in Jon Watts. And also being the first full-on collaboration between Sony and Marvel.
Everything turned out fine thanks to a big helping hand from Robert Downey Jr. stepping in to pinch-hit as Iron Man and a great supporting cast around Holland led by Michael Keaton as the film's villain, the Vulture.
What Happened Next: Spider-Man: Homecoming
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Whatever hesitations Sony and Marvel had over the standalone "Spider-Man" movie being made together were assuaged when they began to stack checks as tall as Tom Holland. "Homecoming" made $100 million more than the last standalone "Spider-Man" film in the last franchise, "The Amazing Spider-Man 2," and did it with a smaller budget.
We like to envision Sony's Amy Pascal and Marvel's Kevin Feige in their offices, actually smashing a "Green Light" button once they saw the receipts.
8. Captain America: Civil War
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Date released: May 6, 2016
Director: The Russo Brothers
Starring: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Sebastian Stan, Tom Holland, Daniel Bruhl, Chadwick Boseman, Scarlett Johannson, Anthony Mackie, Jeremy Renner, Elizabeth Olson, Paul Rudd, Paul Bettany
Budget: $250 million
Box office: $1.153 billion
Streaming: Disney+
Bottom Line: Captain America: Civil War
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The most slept-on film in the entire MCU introduced us to two characters we ended up becoming really attached to, really quickly, and set up standalone films for both characters that would become some of the MCU's biggest hits — the late Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa/Black Panther and Tom Holland as Peter Parker/Spider-Man.
The first film from the MCU to gross over $1 billion at the box office didn't even include Spider-Man in their marketing material, since there was an intense amount of secrecy over his role in the film. Turned out to be a smart move.
What Happened Next: Captain America: Civil War
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"Civil War" ended up getting sort of a direct sequel with the first Holland-led "Spider-Man" movie exactly one year later with "Homecoming" where we literally begin with Peter Parker being dropped off after flying home from Belgium.
7. Spider-Man
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Date released: May 3, 2002
Director: Sam Raimi
Starring: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Willem Dafoe, James Franco, Cliff Robertson, Rosemary Harris
Budget: $140 million
Box office: $821.7 million
Bottom Line: Spider-Man
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The one that started it all. Modern movie fans (i.e., anyone 25 years old or younger) cannot understand the sheer hysteria that accompanied the release of "Spider-Man" in 2002.
It probably seems crazy to fans now, 20 years and 12 Spider-Man movies later, to be in such awe of a comic movie, but as the fans back then can attest, we'd just never seen anything like this.
While there were some minor complaints about the Green Goblin costume — the decision to go with a helmet instead of CGI — that was mostly overcome by a bravura performance from Willem Dafoe as the film's villain.
What Happened Next: Spider-Man
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Made for a relatively modest budget of $140 million, the original "Spider-Man" grossed almost $1 billion at the box office and made international movie stars out of almost all the young actors involved, propelling the careers of Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst and James Franco into the stratosphere.
Work began on "Spider-Man 2" almost immediately, and we got a sequel within two years.
6. Avengers: Infinity War
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Date released: April 27, 2018
Director: The Russo Brothers
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Tom Holland, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Pratt, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Don Cheadle, Chadwick Boseman, Josh Brolin, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen
Budget: $400 million
Box office: $2.048 billion
Streaming: Disney+
Bottom Line: Avengers: Infinity War
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Spider-Man is one of the heroes who steal the show in "Infinity War" and lets Holland and Robert Downey Jr. author one of the greatest death scenes in comic book movie history ("Mr. Stark, I don't feel so good"). It also launched 1 million memes.
The absolute "Whoa" of Peter Parker turning to ash at the end of this movie had to be experienced in a theater.
What Happened Next: Avengers: Infinity War
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Remember how we said "Civil War" was the first MCU movie to pass $1 billion at the box office? Well, "Infinity War" was the first MCU movie to pass $2 billion. And what did they both have in common? Spider-Man.
Fans got one whole year of hand-wringing about whether Spider-Man was really dead before they got the "Endgame" finale one year later.
5. Spider-Man: Far From Home
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Date released: July 2, 2019
Director: Jon Watts
Starring: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jake Gyllenhaal, Jon Favreau, Jacob Batalon, Samuel L. Jackson, Colbie Smulders, Marisa Tomei
Budget: $160 million
Box office: $1.131 billion
Streaming: Amazon ($)
Bottom Line: Spider-Man: Far From Home
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"Far From Home" delivered on the promise of "Homecoming" and also gave us as fans what we needed most as far as the MCU — a look at life post-Blip. This was the first film where we saw what became of the world when everyone came back after being gone for five years.
The movie benefits hugely from two supporting characters getting a large chunk of screen time. Jake Gyllenhaal is a perfect villain as Mysterio, and getting Zendaya a bigger role as Mary Jane Watson made the movie.
What Happened Next: Spider-Man: Far From Home
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That twist ending was something we ended up having to ruminate on for more than two years. How in the world was the MCU going to figure out how to reconcile the fact that the entire world now knows who Peter Parker is?
We finally got our answers when "Spider-Man: No Way Home" came out on Dec. 17, 2021. Multiverse, anyone?
4. Spider-Man 2
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Date released: June 30, 2004
Director: Sam Raimi
Starring: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Alfred Molina, James Franco, Rosemary Harris, J.K. Simmons
Budget: $200 million
Box office: $789 billion
Streaming: Peacock
Bottom Line: Spider-Man 2
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"Spider-Man 2" really reinvented what we thought comic book movies could be in a pre-MCU world. Were it to come out today, we have little doubt the push would come full throttle for Academy Award nominations for not only Best Picture but Best Supporting Actor for Alfred Molina as Doctor Octopus.
"Spider-Man 2" also made good on the promise of the first "Spider-Man" movie two years earlier. As this list has proven, that's no small feat.
What's interesting is that contract negotiations between Sony and star Tobey Maguire became so heated leading up to filming that Jake Gyllenhaal, who later played villain Mysterio in "Far From Home" was set up as a quick fill-in should Maguire back out.
What Happened Next: Spider-Man 2
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Maguire got the big payday he was looking for with "Spider-Man 2" and turned in one of the better performances of his career. He was a perfect match with Molina as the villain.
You couldn't have found a more excited comic book fanbase than the Spideyheads after this movie came out in regards to anticipating and welcoming the next movie in the franchise.
Sadly, "Spider-Man 3" became one of the most hated comic book movies of all time.
3. Spider-Man: No Way Home
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Date released: Dec. 17, 2021
Director: Jon Watts
Starring: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Benedict Cumberbatch, Marisa Tomei, Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina, Jamie Foxx, Rhys Ifans, Thomas Haden Church, Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, Charlie Cox, Jon Favreau
Budget: $250 million
Box office: $600 million (through Dec. 21, 2021)
Streaming: N/A
Bottom Line: Spider-Man: No Way Home
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"Spider-Man: No Way Home" was one of the most anticipated movies of all time and opened to record numbers. The $260 million it earned at the domestic box office in its opening weekend was the second-highest total of all time.
More than that, the movie revealed one of the worst-kept secrets in movie history. It brought back all of the actors who'd been live-action Spider-Men in history with Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, who ended up being in much more of the movie than anyone anticipated.
What a thrill to behold. The best payoff for a film franchise since "Avengers: Endgame" should easily clear $1 billion in worldwide box office in its second weekend.
What Happened Next: Spider-Man: No Way Home
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The biggest question moving forward for the "Spider-Man" franchise will now be the involvement of star Tom Holland, who only has one film remaining on his original contract with Sony/Marvel Studios. That's widely anticipated to be the upcoming "Fantastic Four" movie directed by the man who helmed all three of the standalone Spider-Man movies with Holland.
Don't expect Holland to be going anywhere. With box-office receipts expected to approach $4 billion for the three films, the young Brit could garner between $30 million and $50 million per film on his new contract.
Or should that be in pounds?
2. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
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Date released: June 2, 2023
Directors: Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson
Starring (voices): Shameik Moore, Oscar Isaac, Daniel Kaluuya, Issa Rae, Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld, Mahershala Ali, Bryan Tyree Henry, Luna Lauren Velez, Jason Schwartzman, Karan Soni
Budget: $100 million
Box office: $208.6 million (first weekend)
Streaming: N/A
Bottom Line: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
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This could be the best movie of 2023 and, upon further viewings, could definitely move into the No. 1 spot. The continuing saga of Miles Morales in "Across the Spider-Verse" opened to massive box-office numbers in June 2023 and was something of a technological marvel with its groundbreaking animation — a true cinematic achievement in a time when it's easy to feel ground down buy IP and comic-book movies.
What Happened Next: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
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Few trilogy-capping films will be as highly anticipated as when "Beyond the Spiderverse" comes out in 2024 — the madcap legion of fans of the first and second movies now find themselves part of the masses who love these films.
How will the saga of Miles Morales end? We all can't wait to find out.
1. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
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Date released: Dec. 14, 2018
Directors: Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman
Starring (voices): Shameik Moore, Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld, Mahershala Ali, Bryan Tyree Henry, Lily Tomlin, John Mulaney, Nicolas Cage, Kathryn Hahn, Liev Schreiber
Budget: $90 million
Box office: $375.5 million
Streaming: FX Now
Bottom Line: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
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If you're in the know, please believe there is no "Spider-Man" movie more beloved by fans than "Into the Spiderverse." And we would venture as far as to say it ranks among the greatest comic book movies of all time alongside classics like "The Dark Knight" and "Black Panther" — both of which were nominated for multiple Academy Awards.
"Into the Spiderverse" and its sprawling tale of multiple Spider-Mans and Spider-Womans and even a Spider-Pig, led by teenage superhero/graffiti artist Miles Morales, won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
You love to see it.
What Happened Next: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
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"Into the Spiderverse" was still in theaters when fans began clamoring for a sequel, and in December 2021, we found out that we weren't just getting one sequel. We were getting two.
"Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse" was originally be split into two parts, with the first movie scheduled to come out on Oct. 22, 2022, but didn't actually hit theatres until June 2, 2023. Now, the third movie in the trilogy will be "Beyond the Spiderverse" and is set for release in 2024.