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.
Superhero film
Alex Proyas' "The Crow" (1994) became the first independent comics superhero film that established a franchise. As Joel Schumacher's "Batman & Robin" (1997) was critically panned for being too jokey and tongue-in-cheek, "The Crow" brought in a new realm of violence absent in previous popular superhero films targeted at younger audiences and bridging a gap to the more modern action film. The success of "The Crow" catalyzed the release of a film version of "Spawn" (1997), Image Comics' leading character. The success of the "darker" Image Comics characters shifted the direction of comic book movies. Marvel soon released their films to become franchises, "Men in Black" (1997) and "Blade" (1998). After Marvel bought Malibu Comics (The company owned "Men in Black"), Marvel and Columbia Pictures released the "Men in Black" film and comics in 1997. The film became the first Marvel property to win an Oscar and the then highest-grossing comic book adaptation until the release of Sam Raimi’s "Spider-Man" in 2002. "Blade" was also a mix of a more traditional action film as well as darker superhero film with the title character having vampire powers as well as carrying an arsenal of weaponry. The success of "Blade" began Marvel's film success (which debuted in Marvel Comics) and set the stage for further comic book film adaptations.