Sony Pictures' Spider-Man 3 had its worldwide premiere in Tokyo, Japan, garnering mixed reviews and setting box-office records. Internationally, the film's opening day grossed $29.2 million, an 86% increase over Spider-Man 2. The Sam Raimi-directed film sold a record $59 million on its first day release in North America and set records in Hong Kong, Taiwan, France and the Philippines.

The third installment in the billion-dollar-plus franchise featuring Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst hit the big screen with superhero marketing strength. Sony Pictures' promotion effort cast a large web, netting partnerships with Wal-Mart, Burger King, and General Mills. "Spider-Man Merchandising has developed unique promotional programs to support the theatrical release of Spider-Man 3 across all channels of distribution with an emphasis in mass," said Juli Boylan, svp at Sony Pictures Consumer Products.

The film's release was impossible to miss. Wal-Mart offered an exclusive carbonated beverage from Cott's. Burger King ran a "Which Spidey Suits You?" game promotion, which played off the Red and Black Spider-Man alter egos in the film. General Mills' movie tie-in was its largest ever: Cheerios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Fruit Roll-Ups, and Yoplait Yogurt featured Spider-Man 3-related artwork.

Conspicuously absent from the promotional milieu, however, was Cadbury Schweppes' Dr Pepper, which tied in with the first two Spider-Man movies. "Dr Pepper isn't back for Spider-Man 3 because frankly we've been there, done that," said George Leon, evp-worldwide consumer marketing at Sony.