‘Spider-Man 3’ No Match For ‘Deadpool’ In All-Time Domestic Box Office

Ask any fan their opinion on which is the better film, Spider-Man 3 or Deadpool and the answer will almost certainly be the latter. And now fans of the “Merc With A Mouth” can count their ticket stubs to prove it.

According to ComicBook, Deadpool has officially toppled the much maligned 2005 Sam Raimi-directed film in total domestic box office to become the eighth highest-grossing comic book-based movie of all time.

Starring Tobey Maguire in his third and final turn as the wall-crawler, Spider-Man 3 burst into theaters behind the highly-anticipated appearance of the popular Spider-Man villain Venom. Played by That 70’s Show alum Topher Grace, Venom was one of Spider-Man’s deadliest villains in the canon. But with director Raimi all but admitting that including Venom in the film was a studio decision and not his own, according to iO9, the movie failed to deliver on the much-hyped anticipation that came along with it.

Further, Raimi has gone on, as reported by Screen Rant, to slam Venom’s inclusion in his film years after the fact.

“I don’t even want to comment on Venom, because I know he’s a great character and all the fans love him. I never want to say anything bad about a much-beloved character because usually it turns out that I’m the one that doesn’t understand what makes it great.”

Sony’s maneuvers ultimately doomed the Raimi-led franchise which was rebooted years later under the guidance of Marc Webb. Tobey Maguire was subsequently replaced by Andrew Garfield and the franchise title changed to Amazing Spider-Man. The studio’s rationale at the time was to introduce Venom in Spider-Man 3 so he could ultimately be spun-off into his own film.

That dream however, could still become a reality. As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, the Venom film franchise has been revived.

“Sony has tapped Dante Harper to pen a script for Venom, something that is being envisioned as a franchise apart from and unrelated to the upcoming Spider-Man movie in the works with actor Tom Holland.”

Harper is best known as the writer behind the Tom Cruise action sci-fi flick, Edge of Tomorrow. Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach, the brains behind the original Sam Raimi-directed Spider-Man properties, are producing and overseeing the project.

And as for Deadpool, the R-rated movie has had quite the impact on the comic book film industry since exploding into theaters a month ago. It already passed Guardians of the Galaxy in total box office gross and only trails Spider-Man and Marvel’s The Avengers in the debut comic book film department.

It may also be responsible for an R-rated cut of the upcoming Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice film set to hit theaters on March 25. As reported by the Morning Ledger, director Zack Snyder shrugged off those rumors claiming that an R-Rated DVD was always in the works for his film. But there’s no denying that Deadpool’s success has opened studios’ eyes to the possibilities of R-rated versions of our favorite comic book heroes. The latest rumor even has the final Wolverine film starring Hugh Jackman as an R-rated film.

Meanwhile, director Tim Miller has been begun chatting up a sequel for Deadpool that includes another fan favorite: Cable. But according to iDigital Times, Miller’s version of the character may not line up with the fans.

“I have an idea of what Cable should be from reading the comics. So, someone in Des Moines, Iowa, may have a different idea of Cable from reading the comics. I may not like his idea. I might read it, but I may not do it. I would say I listen to all of them, but I don’t look to that to guide me. I look to the comic and why people like these characters.”

[Image via Fox Movies]