Spidey relaunches with Tuesday record of $35M

[July 05, 2012]  LOS ANGELES (AP) -- "The Amazing Spider-Man" has swung into action with $35 million domestically in its first day -- a record for a film opening on Tuesday.

The new launch for the Marvel Comics superhero outdid the previous best Tuesday debut of $27.9 million for "Transformers," which also opened the day before the Fourth of July in 2007.

Box-office trackers had projected that "The Amazing Spider-Man" might earn around $120 million in its first six days, through the end of Fourth of July weekend. But its strong start indicates it could do considerably more.

The original "Transformers" went on to do $155.4 million domestically through Fourth of July weekend, which included receipts from Monday night previews before its official Tuesday debut.

"Transformers: Dark of the Moon" opened the week before the Fourth of July last year and pulled in $180.7 million in just over six days.

The opening-day results show the resilience of the Spider-Man brand, which set box-office records from 2002 to 2007 with the three films directed by Sam Raimi and starring Tobey Maguire as the web-slinging superhero.

After a falling out between Raimi and distributor Sony on a fourth film, the franchise started over, with Marc Webb directing and Andrew Garfield slipping into Spider-Man's red-and-blue suit.

"The Amazing Spider-Man" retells the story of how a bite from a radioactive spider endows gangly teen Peter Parker with super strength, agility and senses. The film co-stars Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Martin Sheen and Sally Field.

Some critics had argued that it was too soon to reboot the franchise, just five years after Raimi and Maguire's "Spider-Man 3." But good reviews for "The Amazing Spider-Man" and a solid box-office start should put the carping to rest on the film, which also had a strong head-start overseas last week with about $50 million in a handful of international markets.

Debuting on a Tuesday, "The Amazing Spider-Man" is far down the list of best opening days, since most movies premiere on Friday as the weekend kicks off.

Last summer's "Harry Potter" finale had the best single-day start ever with $91.1 million. It's followed by last May's "The Avengers" with $80.8 million on its way to a record $207.4 million opening weekend.

"Spider-Man 3" opened on a Friday in May 2007, taking in $59.8 million on day one and $151.1 million for the weekend, which was a record at the time.

"The Amazing Spider-Man" is the middle chapter in Hollywood's superhero summer, which opened with Disney and Marvel's "The Avengers," whose worldwide receipts have climbed to $1.45 billion. On July 20, DC Comics and Warner Bros. debut "The Dark Knight Rises," the third and final Batman movie from director Christopher Nolan, starring Christian Bale as the masked vigilante.

[Associated Press; By DAVID GERMAIN]

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