Amazing Spider-Man Opening Day Numbers: Did It Beat Raimi’s Original?

The first entry in Sony’s reboot of the Spider-man film franchise The Amazing Spider-Man raked in $35 million on its opening day in ticket sales at U.S. and Canadian theaters. But how does it stand up to other superhero films, including the original trilogy that got the ball rolling?

The Amazing Spider-Man is Sony’s second major 2012 film, and was released on July 3rd (a Tuesday, which is unusual for films with such box office potential). The reason for the early-week release? Capitalize on July 4th, according to Bloomberg, and the gamble seemed to pay off with $7.5 million coming in from midnight screenings alone.

Despite a strong start (mediocre reviews notwithstanding) the film, promised to be the first in a new trilogy, has some big shoes to fill. Sam Raimi’s predecessor trilogy, with Tobey Maguire in the titular role, raked in $2.55 billion in worldwide ticket sales, and a lot of that came from the most recent installment (though critics and fans alike would call it the weakest in the series).

The reboot film clocked in with opening-day numbers in the neighborhood of the first and second Spiderman films in the original trilogy, according to E!Online. 2002’s Spider-Man raked in $39,406,872 its opening day, a record at the time, eventually broken by its own sequel Spider-Man 2 with $40.4 million in its first day. Amazing‘s opening-day numbers sit around $35 million. Not breaking any records, and slightly behind the original, but still a strong opening.

“Based on this Tuesday performance, Spidey could do a lot better than the $110 million to $120 million originally expected for the first six days,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Hollywood.com’s box office division. This means that Amazing could surpass its own goals. Not bad for a risky reboot.

Have you seen The Amazing Spider-Man yet?