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 rights to further films featuring the character were purchased in 1985, and moved through various production companies and studios before being secured by Sony Pictures Entertainment (Columbia Pictures) for $10 million (plus 5% of any movies' gross revenue and half the revenue from consumer products), who hired Sam Raimi to direct "Spider-Man" (2002), "Spider-Man 2" (2004), and "Spider-Man 3" (2007) starring Tobey Maguire. The first two films were met with positive reviews from critics, while the third film received a more mixed response. In 2010, Sony announced that the franchise would be rebooted. Marc Webb was hired to direct, with Andrew Garfield starring, and "The Amazing Spider-Man" (2012) was released to positive reviews. "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" (2014) saw mixed reviews.