“AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2” GROSSES P112.6-M, BIGGEST FIRST 2 DAYS IN HISTORY!

“The Amazing Spider-Man 2” shattered records as it grossed an electrifying P112.6-million from April 30 to May 1, now the biggest all-time first two days' gross in the country's history. This was announced today by Victor R. Cabrera, Managing Director of Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., the film's local distributor.

The sequel, in which Spider-Man faced off against super villains Electro and Green Goblin, surpassed the first two-day box office receipts of previous record-holder “Iron Man 3” (P110.9-M), as well as recent superhero blockbusters, namely “Marvel's The Avengers” (P100.8-M), “Man of Steel” (P92.7-M), “The Amazing Spider-Man” (P85.6-M), “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” (P53.8-M), “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” (P49.3-M) and “The Dark Knight Rises” (P36.6-M).

Box-office earnings for “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” jumpstarted on April 30 with P49.43-M, breaching the highest opening day record for 2014. Figures dramatically rose the next day, May 1 with P63.14-M which also dethroned the crown for biggest Thursday gross ever.

“Amazing 2” has already captured an impressive overseas gross of more than $155 million in just two weeks, and is expected to claim an opening of $100 million in the U.S. this weekend.

In the Philippines, the largest earnings were posted by SM Mall of Asia at P6-M, followed by SM North EDSA, P5.53-M and SM Megamall, P5.54-M.

The Top 4 to 20 cinemas include Trinoma (P4.29-M), Glorietta 4 (P3.18-M), SM Cebu (P2.88-M), Greenhills Promenade (P2.21-M), SM Southmall (P2.18-M), Alabang Town Center (P2.10-M), SM Aura (P2-M), Eastwood (P1.95-M), Power Plant (P1.85-M), Greenbelt 3 (P1.82-M), Newport (P1.78-M), Gateway (P1.77-M), Market! Market! (P1,709,866), SM Clark (P 1,709,476), Ayala Cebu (P1.64-M), Shang Cineplex (P1.63-M) and Robinsons Magnolia (P1.573-M).

Rounding out the Top 30 theaters are SM Marikina (P1,570,875), SM Fairview (P1,570,353), Bonifacio High Street (P1.55-M), Robinsons Ermita (P1.50-M), Robinsons Galleria (P1.49-M), SM San Lazaro (P1.42-M), Festival (P1.38-M), Fisher Mall (P1.32-M), Sta. Lucia East (P1.29-M) and SM Manila (P1.24-M).

In the film, Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) feels there’s nothing quite like swinging between skyscrapers, embracing being the hero, and spending time with Gwen (Emma Stone). But being Spider-Man comes at a price: only Spider-Man can protect his fellow New Yorkers from the formidable villains that threaten the city. With the emergence of Electro (Jamie Foxx), Peter must confront a foe far more powerful than he. And as his old friend, Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan), returns, Peter comes to realize that all of his enemies have one thing in common: Oscorp.

“The Amazing Spider-Man 2” is directed by Marc Webb and produced by Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach. Screenplay by Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci & Jeff Pinkner. Screen Story by Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci & Jeff Pinkner and James Vanderbilt. Based on the Marvel Comic Book by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.
Now playing across the Philippines in IMAX 3D, Digital 3D and 2D formats, “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.

Paul Giamatti is the Rhino in “THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2”

As Spider-Man's enemies begin to unite in Columbia Pictures' new action adventure “The Amazing Spider-Man 2,” one enemy to join the sinister cause is the Russian gangster Aleksei Sytsevich, played by Oscar-nominated actor Paul Giamatti (“Sideways,” “12 Years a Slave”). Stopped and sent packing by Spider-Man early in the film, he returns as a highly mechanized Oscorp invention – the Rhino.

The Rhino was in fact Paul Giamatti’s favorite Marvel character when he was growing up. “He’s just brute force, and a little kid loves that sort of thing,” the actor says, describing the Rhino’s appeal. “You can just destroy everything, go through a brick wall. The Rhino had that great mean face all the time and was cool-looking.”

An appearance on Conan O’Brien’s late night talk show in 2011 led to Giamatti being cast as the Rhino in “The Amazing Spider-Man 2.” “As a joke, Conan asked me if I could be in one of the Spider-Man movies, what would I want to play, and I said the Rhino,” says Giamatti. “I guess Marc Webb saw it, and when they were coming around to do this one, I met him and he asked, ‘Would you seriously want to play the Rhino?’ It’s such a weird fantasy thing – I feel like I’m seven!”

Bringing the Rhino to the big screen presented a challenge to the special effects team. “We had some creative license in creating a wonderful villain in the Rhino – one that would make people laugh and fear at the same time,” says digital effects supervisor David Alexander Smith. “We looked at old Russian tanks and military equipment. We wanted it to feel substantial and not rickety, but at the same time it’s kind of a hodgepodge. We ended up with something very strong and fun at the same time, playing off of the character that Paul Giamatti established.”

Even though the Rhino costume would be entirely CG (2,295 pieces of CG geometry, including 263 nuts and bolts), Giamatti performed on set in a 12-foot-tall, mobile unit. “It was important for a few reasons to have Paul Giamatti in some sort of physical contraption on the set,” says Visual Effects Supervisor Jerome Chen. “[Director] Marc [Webb] wanted Andrew [Garfield] and Paul to have the correct eyelines to each other – they had to see and act with each other. Also, because this scene is in daylight on Park Avenue, we could have the correct lighting on Paul when we put the CG suit around him. I’m sure that onlookers had no idea what they were looking at, but it looks great in the final film.”

This past fall, Paul Giamatti was seen in several films: John Lee Hancock’s “Saving Mr. Banks,” Steve McQueen’s “12 Years a Slave” opposite Brad Pitt, Michael Fassbender, and Chiwetel Ejiofor; Carlo Carlei’s “Romeo and Juliet,” as Friar Laurence, opposite Hailee Steinfeld and Damian Lewis.

Other credits for him include “Turbo,” “Rock of Ages,” “The Ides of March,” Curtis Hanson’s HBO movie “Too Big To Fail,” in which his performance earned him his third SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries as well as an Emmy® and Golden Globe® nomination.
In 2006, Giamatti’s performance in Ron Howard’s “Cinderella Man” earned him his first SAG Award and a Broadcast Film Critics’ Award for Best Supporting Actor, as well as Academy Award and Golden Globe® nominations in the same category.

For his role in Alexander Payne’s critically-lauded “Sideways,”Giamatti earned several accolades for his performance including Best Actor from the Independent Spirit Awards, New York Film Critics Circle as well as a Golden Globe® and SAG Award nomination.

Opening across the Philippines on April 30 in IMAX 3D, Digital 3D and 2D formats, “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN” GROSSES P271.54-M, NO.1 IN PH FOR 2ND WEEK

Comic book hero Peter Parker triumphantly returned to Philippine cinemas, re-igniting the Spider-Man film franchise with a ten-day nationwide gross of a staggering P271.54-million for “The Amazing Spider-Man.” This was announced today by Victor R. Cabrera, managing director of film distributor Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc.

Topping the local box-office for two weeks in a row, the “Spider-Man” reboot is now the second-highest grossing movie of the year, and on track to become one of the most successful titles of all-time.
In the US, the brand new “Spider-Man” spun itself a $65 million opening weekend and $140 million in its first six days at theaters, July 3 to 8. Overseas, it added $129.1 million, raising its international total to $201.6 million and worldwide haul to $341.2 million since it began rolling out a week earlier in some foreign markets.
Back in the Philippines, “Amazing” opened June 29 with the biggest rollout ever in the industry: 530 cinemas, including 90 Digital 3D and 4 IMAX 3D screens. SM Mall of Asia registered the highest box-office receipts with P21.58-M, followed by SM North EDSA with P16.81-M, and Trinoma at P13.70-M.

LIZARD is the Spitting Image of Spiderman

Mother nature appears to have a created replica of comic book superhero Spider-Man.

The Mwanza Flat Headed Agama lizard has distinctive red and blue markings that make it a dead ringer for the web-slinging superhero.

Photographer Cassio Lopes snapped the super creature clinging to a rock in the Maasai Mara National Park, Kenya, in a pose almost identical to spidey’s famous crouch.

The lizards are native to Africa and live in groups with one dominant male — usually the most colourful.
And just like the superhero’s secret alter-ego Peter Parker, this creature is extremely shy, vanishing as soon as the camera had snapped.

Cassio, 38, was looking out for leopards when he spotted the creature basking in the sun and grabbed his chance for a photo.

He said: “I think this lizard was even more shy than Spider-Man himself. It must have brought us luck though because afterwards we managed to see the leopard we were looking for.”

The species’ popularity has rocketed since the comparison was noted, with exotic pet stores reportedly selling out of the lizards.

But Spider-Man's spidey-senses would be on full alert if he saw the amphibian.

In the blockbuster “The Amazing Spider-Man” the hero will be battling against a 9ft lizard, Dr Curt Connors, played by Rhys Ifans.

Andrew Garfield as THE AMAZING SPIDERMAN

“Peter Parker is a hero, not a superhero,” says Andrew Garfield, who takes on the iconic role in Columbia Pictures' eagerly anticipated 3D action-adventure, “The Amazing Spider-Man” which focuses on an untold chapter that tells a different side of the Peter Parker story. “He’s already good before the spider bites him. After that, he gets the power to act on what he already knows is right.,” the actor adds.

“The Amazing Spider-Man” is the story of Peter Parker, an outcast high schooler who was abandoned by his parents as a boy, leaving him to be raised by his Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen) and Aunt May (Sally Field). Like most teenagers, Peter is trying to figure out who he is and how he got to be the person he is today. Peter is also finding his way with his first high school crush, Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone), and together, they struggle with love, commitment, and secrets. As Peter discovers a mysterious briefcase that belonged to his father, he begins a quest to understand his parents’ disappearance – leading him directly to OsCorp and the lab of Dr. Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans), his father’s former partner. As Spider-Man is set on a collision course with Connors’ alter-ego, The Lizard, Peter will make life-altering choices to use his powers and shape his destiny to become a hero.

EMMA STONE is GWEN STACY in THE AMAZING SPIDERMAN

Fast-rising star Emma Stone plays Gwen Stacy, Peter Parker’s first love and more importantly, his first real connection to the world around him, in Columbia Pictures' new action-adventure, “The Amazing Spider-Man.”


It’s a very different relationship from the one that audiences might be more familiar with. “I feel like Mary Jane fell in love with Spider-Man. Gwen falls in love with Peter Parker,” Stone explains.

In the film, Stone’s Gwen -- a high school valedictorian, all-round brainiac and head intern for Dr. Curt Connors at OsCorp -- comes to the fore as the girl who helps Andrew Garfield’s Peter Parker keep his feet on the ground even as his tremendous powers let him soar through the sky.
“She’s his confidante,” says Stone, who returned to her natural blonde hair for the role, a far cry from the redhead she’s sported through most of her movie career. “She’s the only one who knows that he’s Spider-Man, which is kinda great. And the nice thing is that Gwen falls in love with Peter first. She loves the boy, in spite of him being Spider-Man, rather than the other way around.”
And, as the romance between the high school sweethearts blossoms, Gwen, whose father, Captain George Stacy (Denis Leary) is the police chief charged with finding Spider-Man and bringing him to justice, finds that her life just may be in danger.
“Getting involved with Peter is the first irresponsible thing she’s ever done. She knows that this boy is dangerous and there’s probably some complex about her father having a dangerous job,” admits Stone. “It’s her first time really standing up to her father and doing something he wouldn’t approve of. She has her whole life planned out and Peter really changes that for her. You’re going to see Gwen experience being out of control for the first time.”

The Untols Story of Peter Parker Begins with “THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN”

Spider-Man returns to the big screen for the untold story of Peter Parker in Columbia Pictures' new action-adventure “The Amazing Spider-Man.”

Focusing on an untold story that tells a different side of the Peter Parker story, the new film stars Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Campbell Scott, Irrfan Khan, with Martin Sheen and Sally Field. The film is directed by Marc Webb. Screenplay by James Vanderbilt and Alvin Sargent and Steve Kloves.

“The Amazing Spider-Man” is the story of Peter Parker (Garfield), an outcast high schooler who was abandoned by his parents as a boy, leaving him to be raised by his Uncle Ben (Sheen) and Aunt May (Field). Like most teenagers, Peter is trying to figure out who he is and how he got to be the person he is today. Peter is also finding his way with his first high school crush, Gwen Stacy (Stone), and together, they struggle with love, commitment, and secrets.
As Peter discovers a mysterious briefcase that belonged to his father, he begins a quest to understand his parents’ disappearance – leading him directly to OsCorp and the lab of Dr. Curt Connors (Ifans), his father’s former partner. As Spider-Man is set on a collision course with Connors’ alter-ego, The Lizard, Peter will make life-altering choices to use his powers and shape his destiny to become a hero.

In beginning a new chapter in the Spider-Man saga, it was important to the filmmakers to show a side of Peter Parker that moviegoers haven’t seen before.

Director Marc Webb Talks about “THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN”

Given his surname, you might think that it’s inevitable that Marc Webb would end up directing a Spider-Man movie. But the 37 year old would be the first to admit that he’s something of a leftfield choice to oversee this latest iteration of the friendly neighbourhood webslinger, with The Amazing Spider-Man representing only his second film, following 2009’s hit romantic comedy, (500) Days Of Summer.


That movie’s wry humour, flashy setpieces and focus on characters, though, persuaded The Amazing Spider-Man producers, Avi Arad, Matt Tolmach and the late Laura Ziskin that Webb was their Spider-director. And Webb has risen to the challenge, with an earthy, grounded aesthetic that sees the webslinger’s legendary story take place in a very recognisable universe: ours.


We caught up with Webb in his Culver City editing suite, and talked to him about his decision to get involved with the project, the challenges of making Spider-Man swing, and finding Andrew Garfield...


How did you get involved with The Amazing Spider-Man?
I was meeting with these guys [Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach] and they brought up the idea. I was meeting with them on something else and I thought it was totally ridiculous. I said, I don’t make movies like that. They said, that’s why you should do it.

This is a new version of the Spider-Man story. How different is it?
There’s so much to tell in terms of who this kid is. My favourite thing about Spider-Man, is Peter Parker, the fact that he’s a kid from Queens who’s not a billionaire and he’s not an alien. He’s a kid who has the same problems we all do and that makes him intensely relatable. Spider-Man becomes wish fulfillment for that, flying through the air and beating up bad guys, but that all emanates from what Peter Parker would dream of, whether or not he was Spider-Man. To me, I wanted to start from a place where it felt like, if you walked into the theatre, that it was the same universe you lived in, and ground that both aesthetically and emotionally, which is difficult when you have a giant lizard running down the street.


How did you approach the scenes where Spidey is swinging through the city?
It was important for me to not just see Spider-Man swinging away from afar, but to be with him and feel that. We went to New York, near Columbia and Harlem and built a travelling rig system. We have motion capture elements that are there to create a sense of realism, weight and physical realism that we’re still working on and will be working on until the day before the movie comes out. It’s about expanding the universe, where you earn the spectacle of Spider-Man’s abilities.

Superhero in "THE AMAZING SPIDERMAN" Search for Dad

It's not just a random mutant spider bite that sets Hollywood's new Peter Parker on the superhero career track.


From the trailers of "The Amazing Spider-Man" (and the six-minute extended footage now playing with “Men In Black 3”) it's clear that something dark and deep is at the heart of Peter's fateful encounter with that spider. He may even be a Spider-Man of destiny.

The footage offers glimpses of the orphan boy's natural father (Campbell Scott), a man shrouded in a mystery that Peter (Andrew Garfield) needs to unravel as a youth.
Garfield, co-star Emma Stone and director Marc Webb would not divulge details, but they did acknowledge that a personal quest puts Peter on a collision course with the spider whose bite imparts superpowers. "I love the idea of destiny having a hand in Peter Parker's fortune, and not just being a slip and a fall," Garfield said in an interview. "I love the idea of him being meant to assume this symbol."
"The Amazing Spider-Man" maintains the classic Parker family structure of the Marvel Comics and the three previous big-screen blockbusters that starred Tobey Maguire as Peter. Garfield's Peter is raised by his upright Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen) and loving Aunt May (Sally Field).






In Maguire's version, a school field trip took Peter to the lab where that spider gave him the momentous nip. In the new film, Peter's on a mission when fate strikes.


"There's a lot that leads him to that spider bite in this one," Stone said. "It's not just a school field trip. He snuck in there for some reason."

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN Footage will be shown in MEN IN BLACK 3

Never-before-seen footage from The Amazing Spider-Man™ will be shown as an added attraction to Men In Black 3 when it opens across the Philippines on Wednesday, May 23 in Digital 3D and regular theaters.

One of the world’s most popular characters is back on the big screen as a new chapter in the Spider-Man legacy is revealed in The Amazing Spider-Man™. Focusing on an untold story that tells a different side of the Peter Parker story, the new film stars Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Campbell Scott, Irrfan Khan, with Martin Sheen and Sally Field.
The film is directed by Marc Webb from a screenplay written by James Vanderbilt, based on the Marvel Comic Book by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Laura Ziskin, Avi Arad, and Matt Tolmach are producing the film in association with Marvel Entertainment for Columbia.

3rd Trailer of “THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN” is Out!

Check out the third trailer of the wildly anticipated action-adventure The Amazing Spider-Man which has just been unveiled by Columbia Pictures.

One of the world’s most popular characters is back on the big screen as a new chapter in the Spider-Man legacy is revealed in The Amazing Spider-Man™. Focusing on an untold story that tells a different side of the Peter Parker story, the new film stars Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Campbell Scott, Irrfan Khan, with Martin Sheen and Sally Field.

The film is directed by Marc Webb from a screenplay written by James Vanderbilt, based on the Marvel Comic Book by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Laura Ziskin, Avi Arad, and Matt Tolmach are producing the film in association with Marvel Entertainment for Columbia.

The Amazing Spider-Man is the story of Peter Parker (Garfield), an outcast high schooler who was abandoned by his parents as a boy, leaving him to be raised by his Uncle Ben (Sheen) and Aunt May (Field). Like most teenagers, Peter is trying to figure out who he is and how he got to be the person he is today. Peter is also finding his way with his first high school crush, Gwen Stacy (Stone), and together, they struggle with love, commitment, and secrets. As Peter discovers a mysterious briefcase that belonged to his father, he begins a quest to understand his parents’ disappearance – leading him directly to Oscorp and the lab of Dr. Curt Connors (Ifans), his father’s former partner. As Spider-Man is set on a collision course with Connors’ alter-ego, The Lizard, Peter will make life-altering choices to use his powers and shape his destiny to become a hero.

Opening across the Philippines on July 4 in 3D and regular theatres, “The Amazing Spider-Man” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International. 

“THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN” poster and standee art is out!

Columbia Pictures has just released the new poster and standee images of 

The Amazing Spider-Man, opening in Philippine theaters in 3D on July 3, 2012.

One of the world’s most popular characters is back on the big screen as a new chapter in the Spider-Man legacy is revealed in The Amazing Spider-Man™. Focusing on an untold story that tells a different side of the Peter Parker story, the new film stars Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Campbell Scott, Irrfan Khan, with Martin Sheen and Sally Field.


The film is directed by Marc Webb from a screenplay written by James Vanderbilt, based on the Marvel Comic Book by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Laura Ziskin, Avi Arad, and Matt Tolmach are producing the film in association with Marvel Entertainment for Columbia Pictures.

The Amazing Spider-Man is the story of Peter Parker (Garfield), an outcast high schooler who was abandoned by his parents as a boy, leaving him to be raised by his Uncle Ben (Sheen) and Aunt May (Field). Like most teenagers, Peter is trying to figure out who he is and how he got to be the person he is today. Peter is also finding his way with his first high school crush, Gwen Stacy (Stone), and together, they struggle with love, commitment, and secrets. As Peter discovers a mysterious briefcase that belonged to his father, he begins a quest to understand his parents’ disappearance – leading him directly to Oscorp and the lab of Dr. Curt Connors (Ifans), his father’s former partner. As Spider-Man is set on a collision course with Connors’ alter-ego, The Lizard, Peter will make life-altering choices to use his powers and shape his destiny to become a hero.

The Amazing Spider-Man is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International. Visit www.columbiapictures.com.ph to see the latest trailers, get free downloads and play free movie games.

“THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN” TO BE RELEASED JULY 3, 2012

Columbia Pictures announced yesterday that the title of the next Spider-Man film will be "The Amazing Spider-Man".

The film, which is now in production and is being shot entirely in 3D, will be released on July 3, 2012. The film stars Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Campbell Scott, Irrfan Khan, Martin Sheen, and Sally Field. 

The studio simultaneously released a photo of Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man, the first shot of Garfield in the famous full mask and suit.

The film is directed by Marc Webb from a screenplay by James Vanderbilt and Alvin Sargent and Steve Kloves based on the Marvel Comic Book by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Laura Ziskin, Avi Arad, and Matt Tolmach are producing the Marvel Entertainment production for Columbia Pictures. The executive producers are Stan Lee, Kevin Feige, and Michael Grillo. The film’s official website is http://www.TheAmazingSpiderMan-movie.com.