It’s been well-known for decades now that Spider-Man can spin a web any size, catch thieves just like flies, and basically do anything a spider can. But in 2012, the question surrounding this character was whether or not he could survive a recasting. After a trio of beloved movies starring Tobey Maguire, Sony Pictures/Columbia opted to start the “Spider-Man” series over with a whole new cast and filmmaker. The resulting film would be none other than “The Amazing Spider-Man,” which saw Andrew Garfield donning the mask for his first of two appearances as Spider-Man.
Though critical marks were more mixed than the ones given to Sam Raimi’s first “Spider-Man” movie, “The Amazing Spider-Man” was still a lucrative venture. That was made clear from its first day of business, which grossed a whopping $35 million. An impressive debut in its own right, this sum also set a record for how much money a single movie could gross on a Tuesday. Its success was not limited to just opening night moviegoers, though. Eventually, “The Amazing Spider-Man” would gross $262 million domestically. While that was below its trio of predecessors, it was still above most other superhero movies and also more than sizable enough to make it a hit for all involved. With this kind of box office performance, it turned out that surviving a controversial recasting is also one of Spider-Man’s many superpowers.