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Spidey Bids Sayonara to U.S. Debut

Tue., Mar. 6, 2007 11:03 AM PST by Gina Serpe

Before Spider-Man can take Gotham, he's gotta take Tokyo. And Athens. And, uh, Bratislava.

Sony Pictures has unveiled surprising release dates for the third would-be blockbuster installment of its Spider-Man franchise, announcing that the flick will not only not hold its world premiere stateside, but that the film will open in the U.S. a good three days and 40 territories removed from its debut.

Spider-Man 3, purportedly the darkest of the trilogy, will hold its star-studded premiere in Tokyo on Apr. 16, and open exclusively in Japan, via roughly 400 theaters, on May 1.

On May 2 and 3, Peter Parker will sling his wide release web over 39 more countries, including Estonia, Belgium and even Oman, before finally gracing the good old U.S. of A. with his cinematic presence on May 4.

Sony hasn't completely forsaken the States, however. Despite plans to world premiere the film in Tokyo, homegrown comic geeks will eventually get the chance to ogle Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst and the whole Spidey gang on red carpets in the U.S., too, though those dates have yet to be determined.

While Sony has kept mum on their reasons for debuting the Sam Raimi-directed film abroad, the move is not without precedent. Last summer, The Da Vinci Code had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival—though in that instance, just one day before its worldwide release.

But while Sony may not be revealing the motive for their strategy just yet, the likely culprit is competition—or rather, the studio's desire to get a leg, or eight, up on its summer rivals.

According to Variety, Sony likely made the move in a bid to ingratiate itself in the worldwide market early on, thereby increasing the film's chances of standing up to two equally anticipated blockbusters set to follow hot on Spidey's heels.

Both Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End and Shrek the Third, which along with Spider-Man 3 are gearing up to be the three tentpole pics of the summer, are set for release just weeks after the Marvel character debuts.

And while three box office giants actually at the box office in tandem is good news for popcorn lovers and the movie industry in general, it's bad news for studios competing for the moviegoer's almighty dollar—hence the early release.

Spider-Man 3 hits U.S. shores on May 4, Johnny Depp & Co. will set sail for likely the last time on May 23, while the green ogre hits up worldwide theaters on May 18.