Spider-Man is one of the most popular superheroes of all time. One reason for it is how relatable he is to the audience. Other than helping people, Peter Parker also struggles with many familiar real-life issues, such as being poor, lack of time, or difficult romantic relationships. He was also one of the first major young superheroes.
All of this combined led to multiple Spider-Man movies being made in the last 20 years. More than one actor took on the role and while every fan has their own preference, an interesting way how to rank the Spider-Man movies is to consider their box office gross.
9 Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse (2018): $375 Million
Even though the animated movie Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse didn't score as high in terms of box office gross as his live-action counterparts, it still was a critically acclaimed piece that won an Oscar for the best-animated picture.
It also introduced the concept of the multiverse several years before the MCU decided to focus on it in greater detail. Considering the movie's popularity, it's no surprise that a sequel Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is due to arrive in 2022.
8 The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014): $708 Million
With a budget of 200 million dollars, the overall box office gross of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 proved too low for a sequel to appear. In the third movie, Mary Jane Watson could have played a bigger part, portrayed by Shailene Woodley.
As the second movie dared to kill Peter's girlfriend Gwen Stacy, the sequel would focus on the characters of Mary Jane and also possibly Felicia Hardy, known as the antihero Black Cat. However, Andrew Garfield's role as Spider-Man seemingly ended with his second solo run as the web-slinger.
7 The Amazing Spider-Man (2012): $757 Million
The Amazing Spider-Man didn't start on the best of notes considering it failed to surpass the previous Spider-Man movies. It cost $230 million but made only $757 million. The profit was still high enough to lead to a sequel.
Andrew Garfield portrayed a different version of Spider-Man, character-wise - one who was more confident, relaxed, not afraid to joke with his enemies (or more about them). The movie also introduced the romance between Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy and gave more attention to the story of Peter's parents, making it different from its predecessors.
6 Spider-Man 2 (2004): $788 Million
The general rule is that sequels are never as good as their predecessors. However, Spider-Man 2 breaks this notion as many fans consider it the best part of the Sam Raimi trilogy. And that's despite the fact that it didn't earn as much money as the first movie.
With a budget of $200 million, Spider-Man 2 scored $37 million less than the 2002 Spider-Man. However, it continued in creating a compelling story and relatable villains, in this case, Alfred Molina's Doctor Octopus, who's already made it into the MCU as well.
5 Spider-Man (2002): $825 Million
Alongside Blade and X-Men, it was Sam Raimi's Spider-Man with Tobey Maguire that helped start the superhero craze once again. To this day, many fans of Spider-Man consider this movie the best live-action Spider-Man story or think that Tobey Maguire is the best incarnation of the hero.
Whatever the case, the movie did well enough to get two more sequels. With a budget of $139 million, it made $825 million worldwide. While it's not the highest box office gross when it comes to Spider-Man movies (inflation aside), there's no denying that without the first Spider-Man, there might be no MCU today.
4 Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017): $880 Million
After his appearance in Captain America: Civil War (2016), the MCU fans eagerly anticipated Tom Holland's solo Spider-Man movie. When it premiered, it brought a new genre into the MCU, a teenager-oriented comedy.
The formula worked on the audience as the movie mixed humor and action and also introduced the excellent villain Vulture, portrayed by Michael Keaton. With a modest budget (for a superhero movie) of $175 million, Spider-Man: Homecoming went on to score $880 million at the box office, making it the second highest-raking Spider-Man movie at that time.
3 Spider-Man 3 (2007): $894 Million
The box office gross of the final Spider-Man movie from the Sam Raimi trilogy proves that the money a movie earns doesn't always reflect its quality. Even though Spider-Man 3 made the most money from the entire series (with a budget of $258 million), many fans of the series agreed that it was its weakest point.
One of the reasons is the characterization of Venom that didn't sit well with the audience. The movie also tried to introduce too many villains in comparison to the previous ones, making it difficult to properly characterize them.
2 Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019): $1.131 Billion
By far the best-ranking Spider-Man movie is Spider-Man: Far From Home that took Peter Parker and his classmates on a journey to Europe where Spider-Man faces Mysterio. Once again, the movie combines comedy and action, this time also with romance, because Peter's ultimate goal is to tell his classmate MJ that he likes her.
The success of the movie can be contributed to multiple factors, one of them being the fact that it premiered during summer (a blockbuster season), and closed another phase of the MCU, which made the audience intrigued to learn what would happen next. The movie's budget was $160 million. Unlike its predecessors, it made ten times what it cost.
1 Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021): $1.202 Billion
When Spider-Man: Far From Home premiered in 2019, probably no one expected that the sequel would break its own record. Spider-Man: No Way Home is still running in cinemas at this moment, so it can gain an even larger box office profit. However, it already surpassed all previous movies and cost an average amount of money to make: only $200 million.
The cause of its success might be not only Spider-Man's popularity but also the fact that it brings back beloved heroes and villains from previous Spider-Man movies, which is a strong draw even for people who haven't watched the MCU that much before.