2002 Box Office Battle: Spider-Man vs. Star Wars

The Battle of Blockbusters: Analyzing the Box Office Showdown

In the summer of 2002, cinema enthusiasts witnessed an epic clash between two major franchises competing for box office supremacy. The science fiction saga "Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones" faced off against the comic book adaptation "Spider-Man," creating one of Hollywood's most notable theatrical rivalries.

While George Lucas's "Star Wars" franchise had previously dominated with four films among the top 20 global earners, "Spider-Man" emerged as a formidable challenger. Released on May 3 across 7,500 screens, the web-slinger quickly accumulated approximately $350 million domestically within its first month, supplemented by over $100 million internationally.

Not to be outdone, "Attack of the Clones" launched on May 16 across 6,000 domestic screens, generating an impressive $110.1 million in its opening weekend. The film subsequently surpassed $200 million domestically with an additional $130 million from foreign markets.

The distribution strategies employed by the studios revealed contrasting philosophies. Fox adopted what one executive described as a "marathon rather than sprint" approach with "Clones," implementing strict exhibition terms including mandatory 12-week runs and limited revenue sharing for theaters during initial weeks. Conversely, Sony pursued maximum accessibility for "Spider-Man," demonstrating greater flexibility in negotiating multiple-screen placements.

Industry analyst David Davis of Houlihan, Lokey, Howard & Zukin suggested the final outcome might be closer than initially anticipated: "Spider-Man is going to have a $100 million advantage domestically, but the Star Wars mystique makes it a little stronger overseas."

By late May, the worldwide tallies stood at $434 million for "Spider-Man" and $332 million for "Attack of the Clones." While neither film was expected to challenge the all-time record of $1.83 billion set by 1997's "Titanic," both had potential to surpass other top performers like "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" ($966 million) and "The Phantom Menace" ($923.1 million).

International performance would ultimately prove decisive. Some experts believed the established global recognition of "Star Wars" would prevail, while others noted "Spider-Man's" surprisingly strong overseas reception. Regardless of the final outcome, Davis predicted both films would likely reach approximately $1 billion in worldwide revenue – an impressive achievement by any standard.

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