"The Amazing Spider-Man," July 3rd (Sony/Columbia):
It was only a matter of time before Sony/Columbia got around redoing "Spider-Man." With "Spider-Man 3" sporting easily the worst critical and audience marks in the series, Sony/Columbia started from scratch and is going with a full-fledged origin story to bring fan interest back to the franchise.
In the new full-length trailer, we get a little better feel for why Andrew Garfield was brought in as Spidey, and here he looks like a good fit as the dorky but rebellious Peter Parker. Also getting quite a bit of screen time in the trailer is Emma Stone, red-hot coming off of her smash hit "The Help" and looking like a sultry love interest who is an equal match for Peter.
Co-starring Martin Sheen, Sally Field and Denis Leary (still excellent at playing a jerk), "The Amazing Spider-Man" takes a page from "Batman Begins" and shows a darker and more practical universe for our hero, setting up a more complex world than the one Tobey Maguire inhabited.
Here, we see Spider-Man as he tries to create his own identity by battling dark figures, with a dubious police staff hot on his tale just like the Caped Crusader.
Sony/Columbia also made an interesting choice bringing in director Marc Webb, whose only other feature film was the indie gem "(500) Days of Summer."
"The Amazing Spider-Man" does get around to showing the expected special effects tricks, but those looking for a bit of story to go along with the action and chaos could be encouraged to think the "Spider-Man" franchise is in good hands.
The trailer for "The Amazing Spider-Man" can be viewed at the movie's official site.
Box office potential:
The Tobey Maguire "Spider-Man" trilogy was an enormous commercial success, and in a way the lukewarm third entry was a blessing in disguise.
Despite being a step down for the franchise, it still made $890 million worldwide at the box office and was a tremendous overall success for Sony/Columbia.
But instead of trying to squeeze out one more with Maguire, an exciting new cast and direction for the franchise should get audiences to cram into theaters around July 4th this summer.
Though it probably won't build the type of fanfare of "The Dark Knight Rises," "The Amazing Spider-Man" is just about guaranteed to be among the biggest blockbusters of the summer.
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.