Marvel Studios
The next film licensed from Marvel Studios was "Spider-Man" by Columbia Pictures, directed by Sam Raimi and starring Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man. The film was released on May 3, 2002, grossing $403,706,375 in the United States and Canada and $821,708,551 worldwide. The early success of "Spider-Man" led the film's studio to issue a seven-figure advance for a sequel. Arad spoke of the deal, "Movies make sequels. Therefore, it's a big economic luxury to know that a movie's going to get a second and third. This is a business of precedence." According to a Lehman Brothers analysis, the Studios made only $62 million for the first 2 Spider-Man movies. Marvel was making more from half the consumer product licensing fees while making relatively little from the movie, but was enough for Marvel to regain its financial footings. In October 2002, Marvel Studios announced deals for Sub-Mariner and Prime with Universal Studios.
Spider-Man in film
On December 12, 2013, Sony issued a press release through the viral site "Electro Arrives" announcing that two films were in development, with Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci and Ed Solomon writing a spin-off to "The Amazing Spider-Man" focused on Venom (with Kurtzman attached to direct) and Drew Goddard writing one focused on the villain team Sinister Six with an eye to direct. Hannah Minghella and Rachel O'Connor would oversee the development and production of these films for the studio. In April 2014, it was announced that Goddard would direct the "Sinister Six" film, and that both spin-offs would be released before a fourth "Amazing Spider-Man", with Spider-Man potentially appearing in both spin-offs. Later in the month, Tolmach and Arad revealed the "Sinister Six" film would be a redemption story and that the film's lineup might differ from the comics. On July 23, 2014, Sony Pictures announced that "The Sinister Six" was scheduled for release on November 11, 2016. By August 2014, Sony was also looking to release a female-centered spin-off film in 2017, with Lisa Joy writing, and had given the "Venom" spin-off the potential title of "Venom: Carnage".