SPIDER-MAN 3

5Eyeing the competition: Spidey, everyone's favorite friendly neighborhood wallcrawler, readies himself to take on a busy season of ogres, pirates and wizards.

With a hefty price tag comes unprecedented box office clout. When Sony's webslinging tentpole pic planted its war flag on this day a year ago, competing studios wisely scattered clear to avoid decimation and collateral damage. As a result, the US$260-million Sam Raimi juggernaut now has the whole weekend to itself to slaughter - and what an amazing way it is to kick-start the sizzling summer season!