^Certain award groups do not simply award one winner. They acknowledge several different recipients, have runners-up, and have third place. Since this is a specific recognition and is different from losing an award, runner-up mentions are considered wins in this award tally. For simplification and to avoid errors, each award in this list has been presumed to have had a prior nomination.
Overall, the film series received positive to polarized reception from critics. Spider-Man was released to largely positive reviews from the media, scoring an 89% rating based on a sample of 192 reviews on review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes with an average of 7.6/10.[6] The second entry performed even better with critics, garnering an approval rating of 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 8.2 out of 10.[7] With 241 reviews accounted for, Rotten Tomatoes reported that Spider-Man 3 had an approval rating of 63% and a score of 6.2/10.[8]Metacritic lists the third installment as having a 59% rating on its site.[9]Spider-Man 2 was named the third best superhero film of all time by IGN and Time magazine.[10][11]
The first film in the franchise, Spider-Man, was released to US theaters on May 3, 2002. Its story follows Peter Parker (played by Tobey Maguire), a high-school student who turns to crime-fighting in New York, under the alias of Spider-Man, after developing spider-like powers. The film sees him develop friendships with Harry Osborn (James Franco) and his love interest, Mary Jane Watson (portrayed by Kirsten Dunst). Spider-Man was praised for staying faithful to the comic series and for being an enjoyable movie,[12][13][14] with Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal finding the film to be "unusually good" for its genre.[15] Raimi's 2002 release topped the box office with ticket revenue totaling to $114.8 million. By the end of its theatrical run, it had grossed over $820 million.[16]
Spider-Man 2 opened in US theaters on June 30, 2004. This entry focuses on Peter Parker's struggles, as he tries to manage both his personal life and his duties as Spider-Man. He also has to stop the film's main villain, Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina), a man who becomes insane after an experiment of his goes haywire. Spider-Man 2 was less successful in its first week of release, taking first place at the box office with around $88 million at 4,152 locations. Nonetheless, the sequel set several box office records at the time and broke the record for best opening day title ever, previously held by the preceding Spider-Man film.[32] It eventually made more than $783 million worldwide[33] but still stands as the lowest-grossing in the trilogy.[34] However, it also stands as the best received film in the franchise.[7][35] Movie critics believed the second installment had better humor and action sequences than its predecessor and that it was "unusually good" for its genre.[15][36][37] A writer for website IGN said this film had "a better flowing storyline, more emotional depth, and a less ridiculous looking supervillain, Spider-Man 2 elevated the series to just about everything that comic fans love about the character."[10] The website also ranked Spider-Man 2 as being the third best superhero film of all-time on their 2005 list.[10]Time magazine also named the sequel the third best superhero movie on their top-ten list published in 2011.[11]
Out of the film's three Academy Award nominations, Spider-Man 2 was awarded Best Visual Effects. At the 58th British Academy Film Awards, the sequel's sound and visual effects were nominated. A third nomination was for Orange Film of the Year, a category for the 10 biggest United Kingdom box office hits, voted by the public. The film itself also won the Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards's Best Popular Movie honor and was named one of 2004's best pictures by the American Film Institute committee. Spider-Man 2 swept the 31st Saturn Awards with eight nominations and four wins. Maguire and Raimi respectively picked up the Best Actor and Best Director awards and the film was named 2004's Best Fantasy Film. Its writing, supporting performance by Molina and music were among other aspects the Saturn Awards nominated Spider-Man 2 for. At the 2005 MTV Movie Awards, Molina got another nomination, this time for Best Villain. The award show also nominated the sequel for its Best Movie Honor. Another awards organization to honor Molina's portrayal of Doctor Octopus were the London Film Critics Circle Awards, who nominated him for the year's Best Supporting Actor. The 10th Empire Awards gave Raimi his second accolade for his direction on Spider-Man 2. Its overall featured stunt work won it a World Stunt Award and its visual effects scored Spider-Man 2 six Visual Effects Society Award nominations.
Columbia Pictures gave Spider-Man 3 a US release on May 4, 2007. The film begins with Peter Parker basking in his success as Spider-Man before an extraterrestrial symbiote takes control of him. Peter must then battle a rival photographer that the symbiote then takes control of (Topher Grace) and the Sandman (Thomas Haden Church). The general consensus among critics was that the final installment was not as refined as the first two entries, with it being criticized for its excessive use of villains, romantic conflicts and weak plot points.[53][54][55] Nonetheless, Spider-Man 3 surpassed the previous two films' openings, making $151 million at over 4,250 locations.[56]
Both the 35th Annie Awards and 61st British Academy Film Awards gave this film one nomination, the former for Best Animated Effects and the latter for Best Special Visual Effects. Spider-Man 3 did not win any of the four Visual Effects Society Awards nominations it received. Dunst's and Maguire's performances earned them each one nomination from the National Movie Awards. She also received another nomination for Favorite Movie Actress from the 2008 Kids' Choice Awards ceremony. The film fared better at the Teen Choice Awards, amounting a total of seven nominations, varying from Choice Movie Villain (for Grace) to Choice Movie Dance (for Maguire) and Choice Movie Liplock (shared between Dunst and Maguire). The movie was also nominated in eleven categories at the Scream Awards, ultimately winning in the category Best Superhero (Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man).
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