In 2002, the global box office had a chance to settle which was more popular -Star WarsorSpider-Man- and the web-slinger won their battle. ThoughStar Warsmovies have always been profitable at the box office, there have been severalmovies that beatStar Warsat the box officeover the years. From massive pop-culture moments likeAvengers: Infinity Warto popular children’s movies likeFrozen II,Star Warshas always had competition. One of its most difficult years for competition, however, was in 2002.
There’s quite a bit of overlap betweenStar Warsmoviesand the superhero genre. They target largely the same audience of children and (generally) male young adults, and many of the movies that outperformedStar Warstraded the Jedi’s robes for a superhero’s cape, likeThe Dark Knight. It’s no wonder, then, that 2002’sSpider-Manserved as direct competition forStar Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones. The wall-crawler put up such a fight that he actually beat Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker that year, andSpider-Manearned more at the box office.
In May 2002, Spider-Man & Star Wars Faced Off At Last…
Spider-Man Managed To Beat Attack Of The Clones At The Box Office
In May 2002, bothSpider-ManandStar Warsreleased movies, and the two massive franchises finally had a chance to battle for the box office. Sam Raimi’s firstSpider-Manmovie was released on May 3, and just two weeks later,Attack of the Cloneswas released on May 16.Despite releasing just two weeks apart,Spider-Manearned $343 million in May 2002, whileAttack of the Clonesonly earned $216 million(viaBox Office Mojo).Spider-Manalso defeatedAttack of the Clonesin the long run, as the former grossed $825 million while the latter earned just $653 million.
10 Most Impressive Box Office Records Broken By The Star Wars Saga
As one of the most profitable Hollywood franchises of all time, the Star Wars saga have been champions at the box office, setting tons of records.
Interestingly, neitherSpider-MannorAttack of the Cloneswere the highest grossing movie of 2002, however.Two films beat them both:The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, which secured over $923 million at the worldwide box office, andHarry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, which earned almost $879 million worldwide. However,Spider-ManandAttack of the Clonesreleased so closely together, and they had almost the same target audience, that they serve as the most direct competition of 2002’s box office.
Which Is The Bigger Film Franchise: Spider-Man Or Star Wars?
Though It Won A Few Times, Spider-Man Can’t Compete With Star Wars As A Whole
ThoughSpider-ManbeatAttack of the Clonesin 2002, the story of both franchises' battle isn’t the same.In total and on average,Star Warsis still a larger and more profitable franchise thanSpider-Man, even after two decades and several movies.Star Warshas two more feature films thanSpider-Man, and raked in over $5 billion more in total box office revenue adjusted for inflation. Despite having more films, however,Star Warsalso averaged almost $300 million more in box office revenue per movie thanSpider-Mandid.
12
10
$16,978,772,237
$11,746,229,340
$1,414,897,686
$1,174,622,934
There are, of course, some mitigating factors that help explain whyStar Warsis so much more profitable thanSpider-Manoverall.Star Warshas been making movies since 1977, and it had widespread appeal decades before comic book movies became widely popular. Additionally, two of the most recentSpider-Manfilms have been animated adventures following Miles Morales, not Peter Parker, which brought the franchise’s average earnings down. For those reasons,Star Warsstill beatsSpider-Man, just not in 2002.
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones
Cast
Years after the events of The Phantom Menace, the Skywalker Saga continues with Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones. When Senator Padme Amidala’s life is threatened, Jedi Knights Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker are tasked with her protection. While Obi-Wan uncovers a clone army made in secret, Anakin falls in love with Padme, marking the beginning of his inevitable fall to the dark side of the Force.
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is the first film in Sam Raimi’s trilogy starring Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker. Released in 2002, the film introduced superhero fans to a live-action Norman Osborn, played by Willem Dafoe, who is transformed into his villainous alter ego, Green Goblin, after being forced out of Oscorp Industries. At the same time, Peter Parker is grappling with his newfound abilities as the iconic wall-crawler.
