By Dean Goodman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Batman who?

"Spider-Man," the latest comic-book superhero to wind up in a feature film, swung into North American box office history with a record-smashing $114 million haul from its first three days of release, studio executives said on Sunday.

The film, released by Sony Corp (news - web sites).'s Columbia Pictures, trashed the old three-day record of $90.3 million, set last November by "Harry Potter (news - web sites) and the Sorcerer's Stone."

"Spider-Man" also broke the boy-wizard's benchmarks for highest single-day receipts and fastest to reach the century mark, said Jeff Blake, Columbia's president of worldwide marketing and distribution.

Additionally, "Spider-Man" posted record-setting weekend bows in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, and will open in Japan -- the world's second-biggest market -- next Saturday.

As the first major release of the lucrative summer movie season, it sets a high standard for other keenly anticipated movies, including two other franchises, "Stars Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones" (May 16) and "Austin Powers in Goldmember" (July 26).

"Spider-Man" crushed the other movies at this weekend's box office, and two other new releases were stillborn: the gang drama "Deuces Wild" (United Artists) opened at No. 7 with $2.7 million, while Woody Allen's "Hollywood Ending" (DreamWorks) began with $2.2 million, tied at No. 10 with Columbia's "Panic Room."

"The Scorpion King" (Universal), which had ruled the box office for the last two weekends, slipped to No. 2 with $9.6 million. The 17-day total for the action-adventure rose to $74.8 million.

Universal Pictures is a unit of Vivendi Universal . United Artists is a unit of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., while DreamWorks is privately held.

EVERYBODY LOVES 'SPIDER-MAN'

"Spider-Man" is about a high-school geek played by Tobey Maguire who is bitten by a spider and soon able to scale walls and shoot webs from his wrist. Kirsten Dunst co-stars as his love interest, and Willem Dafoe as the villainous Green Goblin. Sam Raimi directed the film, which was reportedly budgeted between $120 million and $130 million.

The audience was evenly split between males and females, and between viewers aged over and under 25, Blake said, and exit polls were bullish. The critics were also enthusiastic.

"It had all the bells and whistles and latest technology, but it also is a movie with a lot of heart and a real romance at its core," he added.

"Spider-Man's" Saturday gross of $43.7 million broke "Harry Potter's" single day record of $33.5 million (also set on a Saturday), and the new film reached $100 million in three days, while "Harry Potter" took five days.

It grossed $31,535 per theater, a record for a film released in more than 3,000 outlets (3,615 in this case), Blake said.

A script is already being written for the first of what the film's producers hope will be many sequels, said Avi Arad, CEO of Marvel Studios, the Marvel Enterprises Inc. unit charged with turning its stable of comic book characters such as "Blade" and "X-Men" into feature franchises.

"The world was waiting to see Spider-Man," Arad said. "It's a nice, clean, interesting character."

Teen-age girls considered the film more of a romance than a superhero film, while boys were drawn to Dunst and older audiences to the special effects and drama, he said.

Its wide-ranging appeal echoed that of "Titanic," the 1997 hit that ended up with $601 million domestically. Columbia Pictures President Amy Pascal declined to predict whether "Spider-Man" could approach those levels.

"I'm very happy with the levels that it's at right now," she said.

Among other comic-book adaptations: "Blade II" opened with $32.5 million in March, and "X-Men" $54.5 million in 2000. DC Comics' "Batman," which revived the studios' enthusiasm for crime-fighting superheroes, opened with $43 million in 1989.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE REACHES $153 MILLION

"Spider-Man" accounted for three-quarters of the receipts for the top 12 films, $153.3 million, according to tracking firm Exhibitor Relations. The total represented a 112 percent leap from last weekend, and a 54 percent jump from the year-ago weekend when "The Mummy Returns" opened at No. 1 with $68 million.

New releases next weekend include the Richard Gere romantic thriller "Unfaithful" and the high school comedy "The New Guy."

Otherwise this weekend, Paramount's road-rage thriller "Changing Lanes" slipped one place to No. 3 with $5.6 million (24-day total $52.3 million). Warner Bros.' Sandra Bullock crime drama "Murder By Numbers" held steady at No. 4 with $3.8 million (10-day total $24.1 million). Paramount Pictures is a unit of Viacom Inc., and Warner Bros. a unit of AOL Time Warner Inc .

Two movies tied at No. 5 with $3.3 million each: Walt Disney Co.'s Dennis Quaid baseball drama "The Rookie" (38-day total $65.1 million) and Twentieth Century Fox's Angelina Jolie vehicle "Life Or Something Like It" (10-day total $11.0 million). Fox is a unit of Fox Entertainment Group Inc .

The top movies in North America -- May 3-5

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Following are the final data for the top 10 movies at the North American box office during the May 3-5 weekend, according to studio figures released Monday by Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc.

Film Three-day Cumulative

Title Gross Gross

1. Spider-Man .......... $114,844,116

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $114,844,116

2. The Scorpion King .......... $9,046,680

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $74,259,075

3. Changing Lanes .......... $5,338,222

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $52,086,342

4. Murder By Numbers .......... $3,624,487

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $23,893,720

5. Life Or Something Like It .......... $3,182,255

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $10,922,247

6. The Rookie .......... $3,120,594

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $64,899,264

7. Deuces Wild .......... $2,704,682

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $2,704,682

8. Ice Age .......... $2,369,504

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $169,030,520

9. Jason X .......... $2,303,345

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $10,250,489

10. Panic Room .......... $2,088,101

BOX OFFICE SO FAR: $90,964,111

NOTE: Hollywood Ending opened at No. 11 with $2,017,981.

Reuters/Variety

John L.:  I have made my return to proclaim that this is the greatest weekend in movie history.  My all time favorite superhero, Spiderman, is now the top dog on the block.  Superman, Batman, Xmen, Blade, Captain America, Fantastic Four, The Hulk all all well and some very very bad, but the top guy in the comic business is and always will be Spiderman.  He has the greatest origin, the best superpowers, the best supporting cast, and the best villains of all of the others.  Peter Parker is the only true "everyman" superhero.  I have been looking forward to this movie since 1978 when the comics first said there was going to be one.  James Cameron was the front runner to direct it, but I believe Sam Raimi was the better based on his "Darkman" and "Army of Darkness" movies.  His comic book style would suit Spidey better than the "King of the World's" more serious ways.  This is the only movie anyone really cares about this week, so let's get on with the full review.

SPIDERMAN: THE MOVIE - FULL REVIEW

Spiderman

Spiderman, Spiderman, 

Does whatever a spider can 

Spins a web, any size,

 Catches thieves just like flies

 Look Out! Here comes the Spiderman.

 Is he strong? Listen bud,

 He's got radioactive blood. 

Can he swing from a thread

 Take a look overhead

 Hey, there There goes the Spiderman.

 In the chill of night

 At the scene of a crime

 Like a streak of light

 He arrives just in time.

 Spiderman, Spiderman Friendly neighborhood Spiderman

 Wealth and fame He's ignored

 Action is his reward.

To him, life is a great big bang up

Whenever there's a hang up 

You'll find the Spider man.

That is the tune that everyone loves from the 60s cartoon about Spiderman. After many years of legal reigning the greatest super hero in comics has arrived on the big screen and is a monster success beyond the wildest dreams of Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, or even Nicholas Hammond. Spiderman was the third superhero to grab my attention when I was a youngster after Superman and Batman, but Spidey quickly became my all time favorite. Thanks to 2 minute bits on "Electric Company" co-starring Morgan Freeman and the classic in its day "Spiderman Cartoon" I became obsessed with the character. I knew making a movie about this character would be nearly impossible since the effects of the webbing and swinging through the city would not look right on screen. The television series from the 1970s tried, but failed for the most part. Animation was where Spiderman stood out especially with the "Spiderman and His Amazing Friends" show in the 1980s. Spiderman, Iceman, and Firestar were a great team. Ahh, but even though Spiderman as well as Peter Parker are loved by many, things have not been going well for the comic books over the last several years. The downfall started when the creators that be decided to change his costume to an all black one. That did not get a great response and was soon dropped. Fortunately that costume was a living being and it led to the creation of the last great comic book villain, Venom. Then in the mid nineties, the writers decided to throw out 20 years of storytelling and say that the Spiderman/Parker running around since about 1976 has been a clone and the real Spiderman has been living on the streets. This Clone Saga almost got the series of comics cancelled it was so hated. The resolution of that story was hastily put together to say that no, the one on the run was the clone and that Spidey has always been with us. Oh yeah, Aunt May died and Norman Osborne returned from the dead, but wait... Aunt May is alive since the one who died was just another clone, I think. The point of all this is that doing a movie about Spiderman, a character that has been around for 40 years, would most likely tee off true fans. There is too much back story and just too much character development to have a film make any since. Changes would have to be made that would most likely anger fans. The first bit of anger was the organic vs mechanical web shooters debate. When Parker was bitten by the radioactive spider in the comic he was unable to make his own webbing naturally. He had to use his chemistry background to create artificial webbing. It would take up too much screen time to explain all of that, so the writers just had the webbing be a result of the spider bite and come out of glands in his wrists. At least it was not his ass. That debate was pretty much a little to geeky for my tastes. There are some other things the movie does that goes against the comic like the Mary Jane Watson relationship and the Green Goblin costume, but overall the changes made were fine and the essence of the character of Peter Parker/Spiderman was kept in tact. His motivations for being a superhero who fights crime instead of a professional wrestler are shown in the movie and the character of Norman "Green Goblin" Osborne is close enough to the comic to not be too offensive. Spiderman: the Movie is one of the few comic book film adaptions to get it right. Only Superman the Movie, Batman (1989), and X-Men are good versions of beloved superheroes. The key is to play it straight and not be too campy. Comic books are very good in the way they play out their stories and develop their characters. Storylines can go for months or even years. The Death of Gwen Stacy storyline from 1974 still to this day effects the Spiderman comics as well as the current movie. Films have to usually condense 30 to 60 years of storylines into a two hour window and that is very difficult. Spiderman the movie sets up things to come very well. It takes the time, around 45 minutes to tell Peter Parker's story of how he became Spiderman. This could have been brushed over in an opening credit montage or told in flashback after seeing Spidey in action, but the director, Sam Raimi, made sure you care about what happens to this so called nerd. The origin of Spiderman is one of the greatest, most heart wrenching ones in the history of comics. Superman and Batman lost their families in horrible ways, but they never blamed themselves for their parents' deaths. Supes' planet was blowing up and Bruce Wayne was a little boy who was powerless to stop the mugger. However, Parker had the power to stop the burglar/car jacker who killed his Uncle Ben and that lapse of heroics haunts him everytime he puts on the suit. That extra bit of "responsibility" has made the Origin of Spiderman one of the most dramatic ever. The first half of the movie is the best part as Parker learns his powers, while the second half, though entertaining, falls a bit flat. The best fight scene in the movie is not between the Goblin and Spiderman, but between Peter Parker and Flash Thompson. That is okay, but better action sequences and better motivations for the Green Goblin could have made the last hour much better. Tobey Maguire is being called the perfect actor to play the part of Peter Parker, but was questionable for the part of Spiderman if that makes sense. Maguire is not known for doing action movies, but fortunately the part in this movie needed a dramatically sound actor to pull off the most important scenes. Anyone can be filmed in the costume and by the looks of things, most of the actually stuff in the full outfit was performed by the 1s and 0s in the computer code of some souped up Macintosh animation program. I did not like Maguire in "Wonder Boys" like many did because his vocal delivery is so monotone, but he manages to put energy into this role like I have never seen him do before and he is very good. There was no best choice, but I have to admit that Freddie Prinze Jr most likely would not have been a good idea. I felt bad for Willem Dafoe as Osborne/Goblin. He is in a role that requires some overacting, but he can't let loose because he is buried underneath a ridiculous outfit that has not facial movements. Dafoe has a very unique face that with the proper prosthetics could have been enhanced with a form fitting mask instead of a helmet. There is a scene with the Green Goblin and Spiderman on a roof that looks silly since it is very dialogue heavy but you can never see anyone's lips move. A lot of post production looping must have been done on this movie. The comic book outfit would have looked just as dumb as the one used, so you have to overcompensate that with a strong actor and a good story and for a good bit of the film, it works. Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watson is better than most people are giving her credit for since her role is strictly the classic Perils of Pauline role. If not for her moments of verbal abuse from her father, she could have been anyone. Mary Jane in the movie is completely different from the one in the main comic, but very similar to the one in the new Ultimate Spiderman series that rewrites common Spiderman mythology. The changes in Watson for the movie were necessary since you don't have 5 years to explain her story like the comics did in the 1960s. As a major fan of the Spiderman, I have to say this movie was not as good as I hoped, but better than it had any right to be. It is an origin movie and because of that things can be a bit slow at times especially in the first hour. Also, it is using the special effects to make Spiderman swing around New York, and it is very "fake" looking, but as some have said, does anyone really know what someone swinging 40 to 80 stories above a city would really look like? Since this movie opened at $114 million in 3 days, a sequel is a given and it is already in pre-pre production. Most of the survivors of this movie should be back in full force in the sequels. I hope they do more with the J. Jonah Jameson part since the actor, J. K. Simmons is great as JJJ, and given way too little screen time. Jameson has always been Spidey's greatest nemesis, and that should definitely be played up more in the next films. Doctor Ocotopus and the Lizard are hinted at for Spiderman 2 which could be interesting. I hope Venom is done in the third movie. Spiderman is the biggest movie to hit the theaters ever at this point, and has an excellent chance of getting at least $350 million before its initial run is over. Even with its flaws, it deserves it. Final Review: 3 1/2 stars out of 5; 7 1/2 out of 10; B; thumbs up. Attack of the Clones has its work cut out for itself.

REST OF THE TOP 10 IN 10:

1.    The Scorpion has always had a lot of trouble beating Spiderman and that continued this week when The Scorpion King could not beat Spiderman.

2.    Maybe the Rock can play the Rocket Racer in Spiderman 7.

3.    It is rare week when Samuel L. Jackson is not in the top 10 somewhere, and with Changing Lanes still doing pretty well, and Attack of the Clones coming out in 2 weeks, and XXX with Vin Diesel coming up, Jackson is on track to having the best year of any actor out there.

4.    Murder by Numbers is not the drama that Sandra Bullock is looking for to get her out of doing Miss Congeniality 3 and 4.

5.    I don't know the ending of Life or Something Like it, but it looks like this movie has died at the box office like the Angelina Jolie's prophet fortold in the movie.

6.    The Rookie is this years first official sleeper hit of the year.

7.    Deuces may be wild, but the movie Deuces Wild is not interesting to people looking to swing around the city instead of dropping cinder blocks on cars.

8.    Ice Age should enjoy this last week as the highest grossing film of 2002.

9.    Jason X is probably going to be known as the movie that made the Friday the 13th movies and EX movie franchise.

10.    Panic Room is Jodi Foster's biggest hit in quite a while and will probably cause more people to overprotect themselves.

Next week, Spiderman should continue its onslaught on the box office.  Unfaithful and The New Guy are the big releases and they should do okay but combined will make less than Spiderman does in a 20 minute period.  In two weeks will come my big special Star Wars Box Office Report.  I will review Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, a second look at The Phantom Menace, and of course Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones.  Bye for now.