After its opening weekend, G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation entered the Independence Day holiday period, accompanied by a formidable competitor: The Amazing Spider-Man. Sony Columbia Pictures had high hopes for The Amazing Spider-Man, aiming to replicate the immense success of the original Spider-Man series.
In recent years, especially after Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy, Sony Columbia Pictures had faced continuous setbacks. Among Hollywood's six major studios, it had ranked last in performance for several consecutive years, with rumors even surfacing about Sony considering selling Columbia Pictures due to its precarious financial position.
To regain its footing, Sony Columbia invested heavily, with a production budget for The Amazing Spider-Man reaching $230 million. They also tailored the film to appeal to the youth-dominated superhero movie market, giving Peter Parker a fully youthful identity—portraying him as a pure high school student with a quirky, talkative personality. Even the lead female character was Gwen Stacy, Spider-Man's first love in the comics.
Including marketing expenses, The Amazing Spider-Man represented a top-tier production costing around $400 million.
As one of the world's most beloved and iconic superheroes, Spider-Man's cultural legend embarked on a new chapter with this film.
Admittedly, Spider-Man is an immensely likable character. Peter Parker isn't a born superhero like Superman, nor is he a billionaire playboy like Batman or Iron Man. Instead, he resembles an ordinary student and the boy next door.
Before the film's release, Columbia Pictures claimed this version of Peter Parker would be the "most stylish and fun Spider-Man to date," with young actress Emma Stone adding more charm as the new female lead.
In terms of scheduling, Sony Columbia deliberately avoided G.I. Joe 2's explosive opening weekend, opting to release The Amazing Spider-Man on the day before Independence Day. The studio hoped the holiday boost would give the film a strong debut.
However, on its July 3rd opening day, The Amazing Spider-Man still fell behind G.I. Joe 2.
Benefiting from the holiday effect, G.I. Joe 2 maintained a strong occupancy rate. Although it didn't match its opening weekend numbers, it still pulled in $25.6 million from the North American market on July 3. Meanwhile, The Amazing Spider-Man grossed $23.35 million on its first day—a respectable figure but only good enough for second place.
Criticism of The Amazing Spider-Man began to mount, not only from the media but also from countless fans.
Comic book enthusiasts, a core audience for the franchise, were deeply dissatisfied with the film's adaptation. Many believed Andrew Garfield was entirely unsuited to play Peter Parker, while Emma Stone, portraying Gwen Stacy, faced widespread criticism. Fans compared her unfavorably to Kirsten Dunst, who had played Mary Jane in the previous trilogy.
Another segment of the core audience, those who hadn't read the comics but had become fans of the earlier trilogy, had been deeply influenced by the "with great power comes great responsibility" theme. They were used to Tobey Maguire's somber portrayal and found the new Peter Parker's quirky and talkative personality hard to accept.
Furthermore, as Matthew Horner noted, Sony Columbia had taken steps to protect its interests against Marvel and Disney, avoiding substantial collaboration with Marvel. As a result, The Amazing Spider-Man lacked the benefit of the Marvel brand's halo effect and had to stand alone.
This left The Amazing Spider-Man caught in an awkward position, failing to please either side of its potential audience.
On Independence Day, The Amazing Spider-Man's daily gross plummeted by 33%, earning only $15.81 million. Meanwhile, G.I. Joe 2 continued to rake in over $20 million per day, solidifying its hold on the top spot at the North American box office.
Over the following two days, both films maintained similar trends. Even as G.I. Joe 2's revenue gradually declined, it still dominated The Amazing Spider-Man, consistently topping the North American box office.
The weekend marked The Amazing Spider-Man's first weekend in theaters and G.I. Joe 2's second weekend. In the highly competitive summer season, box office performance determines the success or failure of commercial films. Once again, the numbers underscored why the Independence Day holiday is often referred to in Hollywood as "Matthew Horner's time."
Over the weekend, G.I. Joe 2 grossed an additional $63.2 million in North America, surpassing The Amazing Spider-Man's $51.2 million, and claimed the top spot for the second consecutive weekend.
After just ten days in theaters, G.I. Joe 2 had effortlessly surpassed $250 million at the North American box office. Coupled with an equally stellar international performance, the film's global box office totaled $523.8 million.
In contrast, The Amazing Spider-Man, which premiered the day before Independence Day, appeared far less impressive.
In its first six days in theaters, the film barely crossed the $100 million mark domestically. While $100 million remains an unattainable milestone for most Hollywood films, this figure was underwhelming given The Amazing Spider-Man's $230 million production cost.
Industry analysts projected that The Amazing Spider-Man would likely gross around $200 million domestically and $600 million globally. These figures left Sony Columbia Pictures disappointed, as they fell far short of the original Spider-Man trilogy's achievements.
Insiders revealed that Sony Columbia was planning a Spider-Man cinematic universe following the success of The Avengers. The studio aimed to bring together characters like the Green Goblin, Rhino, Venom, Spider-Woman, Silver Sable, and Black Cat, who were all part of its Marvel character roster.
As the starting point of this series, The Amazing Spider-Man was a crucial project, which is why Sony Columbia had invested so heavily in it.
However, the new Spider-Man failed to resonate widely.
Despite this, Sony Columbia pressed forward. As soon as The Amazing Spider-Man's opening weekend numbers were revealed, they announced plans for a sequel—a move aimed at boosting the morale of the somewhat lackluster franchise.
The reality was clear: Spider-Man alone wasn't a guaranteed box office sensation. The underwhelming performance of The Amazing Spider-Man had Sony Columbia in a panic.
Even so, the studio had little choice but to proceed with a sequel. The first film didn't constitute a total failure, and the substantial investment couldn't simply be written off.
Additionally, the decision was tied to Spider-Man's licensing rights.
Sony Columbia had to keep producing Spider-Man films, or it risked losing exclusive rights to the character.
Rumors swirled that 20th Century Fox faced a similar dilemma with its Fantastic Four franchise. With its licensing rights nearing expiration, Fox was reportedly planning a reboot with an astonishingly low budget, combining underpaid actors with "five-cent special effects" to avoid a contractual breach.
It seemed inevitable that Hollywood would soon see an infamously terrible Fantastic Four film—a situation driven by business interests rather than filmmaking ambition.
While promoting G.I. Joe 2, Matthew analyzed the shortcomings of The Amazing Spider-Man based on feedback from various sources. After all, he wasn't just an actor but also an investor and producer.
Matthew concluded that The Amazing Spider-Man suffered from poor timing. Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 3 had been widely panned, forcing Sony Columbia to cancel Spider-Man 4 and reboot the series.
With such a short gap between the two iterations, negative perceptions carried over, even with the new title. Moreover, the film couldn't benefit from Marvel's established cinematic universe, and its character design failed to win audiences over.
Additionally, The Avengers had just achieved massive success, and its momentum lingered. Audiences, having feasted on Marvel's "superhero banquet," were less inclined to settle for what felt like a "hot dog" in comparison.
In Matthew's words, Sony Columbia's strategy amounted to overusing Spider-Man: "If Sony Columbia struggles, they make Spider-Man. If they face bankruptcy, they make Spider-Man. If they want to climb out of last place among the major studios, their solution is simple: unleash Spider-Man!"
The situation served as a reminder for Matthew. After Fast & Furious 7, he planned to give the racing saga a temporary break to avoid overexposure and ensure future profitability.
As Matthew continued promoting G.I. Joe 2 across various locations, the film entered its third weekend in North America. Its domestic box office was on the verge of surpassing $300 million, while its global total neared $700 million.
Meanwhile, The Amazing Spider-Man suffered a 65% drop in its second weekend, struggling to reach $200 million domestically.
Matthew's other investments were also in their final stages of theatrical runs in North America. The Hunger Games, having surpassed $400 million domestically, was nearing the end of its run, while The Avengers steadily approached $600 million domestically and had already crossed $1.2 billion globally.
Buoyed by these revenue figures, Matthew returned to Australia with a sense of physical and mental joy, ready to resume filming The Martian.
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