THE POWER OF PETER PARKER.

FEATURES IN THE FALL OF 1999, SAM RAIMI STEPPED INTO THE OFFICES OF SONY PICTURES IN AN IMPECCABLE BLACK SUIT TO PITCH HIMSELF TO DIRECT "SPIDER-MAN." Raimi got the job, and the record-shattering success of "Spider-Man" - with $825 million worldwide, it was at that point the highest-grossing superhero movie of all time by a considerable margin - catalyzed the rise of the genre as the most dominant force in studio filmmaking over the past two decades. And just four years after the debut of "Spider-Man", Marvel announced it would produce its own movies through Marvel Studios, which, after 27 films, has grossed better than $25.6 billion worldwide. Spider-Man, however, was still Marvel's crown jewel, and finally in 1998, Sony Pictures, led by Calley, bought the film rights outright for just $7 million, with Marvel retaining 5% of the profits and 50% of the merchandising. [Extracted from the article]
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