Box Office Preview: Spidey Comes Out Swinging

Things really start to swing at the cineplex today as Andrew Garfield starts his tenure as The Amazing Spider-Man (reviews); While the Katy Perry docu Part of Me (reviews) hits the stage in 3-D on Thursday; And Oliver Stone unleashes his Savages (reviews) on Friday.

Pamela McClintock of THR:

Marking the summer's second superhero tentpole, The Amazing Spider-Man begins spinning its web at the North American box office at midnight Monday, hoping to relaunch the crucial franchise.

Spider-Man features a new look and feel, along with a new director -- Marc Webb -- and cast. Andrew Garfield replaces Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man, while Emma Stone plays the love interest.

Bullish box-office observers believe that Spider-Man could gross north of $120 million during the course of its six-day debut, while Sony puts the number in the $110 million to $120 million range, saying that's a strong start for a reboot.

The 3D movie is already doing bang-up business overseas, where it opened to a stellar $50.1 million from only 13 markets over the weekend. Spider-Man towered in Asia, led by Korea ($13.4 million) and Japan ($11.4 million), doing bigger business in some territories than box-office goliath The Avengers.

Prerelease tracking in North America shows that males of all ages are keen to see the film, while younger females also are expressing strong interest, thanks to the youthful cast and love story at the heart of the movie. Also, Sony's marketing campaign emphasized the untold story and secret that drives Peter Parker.

Spider-Man has more than two weeks of solid play time before Warner Bros. unfurls Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises.

The other two Fourth of July holiday entries are Paramount's concert documentary Katy Perry: Part of Me, which opens Thursday, and Universal's R-rated Savages, which bows Friday.

Part of Me opens across North America on Thursday following fan sneaks on Monday in 100 theaters. The advance screenings are designed to spark good word-of-mouth among Perry's millions of Twitter followers.

Box-office observers caution that Perry's audience might not be as crazed as Justin Bieber's fans in terms of rushing out to see the movie first thing.

That's why Part of Me might only open in the $13 million to $15 million range vs. the $29 million debut of Justin Bieber: Never Say Never last year. Instead, Paramount's Insurge label expects Perry's film to have strong legs.

Part of Me also rolls out this week in the U.K. and Australia. Combined with North American earnings, Part of Me should post a global opening in the mid- to high-teen millions.

Final box-office projections for Savages, directed by Oliver Stone, won't be available until later in the week.