'Spider-Man' Scales to Record 3,876 Theaters
by Brandon Gray
May 23, 2002

Another day, another record for the amazing Spider-Man.

To take full advantage of the Memorial Day holiday, the $130 million Marvel Comics adaptation will swing onto 261 more theaters this weekend, raising its total from a massive 3,615 to an utterly whopping 3,876.

That 3,876 count stands as the widest release ever, topping last summer's No. 1 picture Shrek ($267,665,011) by 161 theaters. DreamWorks' ornery green ogre hit 3,715 venues in its fourth weekend, an increase of 54 from the previous frame. The move had no discernible effect, though, as business fell 41% to $16,520,052 for a 24-day total of $176,069,428.

The next highest theater counts of all time were posted by Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone at 3,672 and Mission: Impossible 2 at 3,669.

Other saturation releases to receive significant expansions in their fourth weekends include Monsters, Inc. (up 188 theaters to 3,649), Gladiator (up 147 to 3,188), The Mummy (up 119 to 3,395) and its sequel (up 101 to 3,553).

Meanwhile, Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones remains undaunted by Spider-Man's aggressive move. George Lucas' digital epic is sticking to the 3,161 THX-certified theaters that served it well last weekend.

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THEATER COUNTS