List of accolades received by the 2002–2007 Spider-Man film series
The first film in the franchise, "Spider-Man", was released to US theaters on May 3, 2002. Its story follows Peter Parker (played by Tobey Maguire), a high-school student who turns to crime-fighting in New York, under the alias of Spider-Man, after developing spider-like powers. The film sees him develop friendships with Harry Osborn (James Franco) and his love interest, Mary Jane Watson (portrayed by Kirsten Dunst). "Spider-Man" was praised for staying faithful to the comic series and for being an enjoyable movie, with Joe Morgenstern of "The Wall Street Journal" finding the film to be "unusually good" for its genre. Raimi's 2002 release topped the box office with ticket revenue totaling to $114.8 million. By the end of its theatrical run, it had grossed over $820 million.
Spider-Man in film
The low box office performance of 1983's "Superman III" made feature-film adaptations of comic book properties a very low priority in Hollywood until the 1990s. In 1985, after a brief option on "Spider-Man" by Roger Corman expired, Marvel Comics optioned the property to Cannon Films. Cannon chiefs Menahem Golan and his cousin Yoram Globus agreed to pay Marvel Comics $225,000 over the five-year option period, plus a percentage of any film's revenues. However, the rights would revert to Marvel if a film was not made by April 1990.