In the USA, the "Spider-Man" movie teasers kept appearing on television channels.
Warner Bros. was particularly not that happy.
It was because the "Spider-Man" film was about to screen in USA cinemas on November 15, 1996.
It just exactly faced off the screening with their film "Space Jam", the movie starring Michael Jordan himself.
And Warner Bros. spent a lot on that film "Space Jam"; it was around 80 million dollars. They were initially hopeful for that film, as their popular IPs such as Looney Tunes would be included in the film.
Looney Tunes was an intellectual property that Warner Bros. acquired from Hanna-Barbera before Hanna-Barbera was wholly bought by KiShin.
Looney Tunes was highly popular, and by partnering their beloved IPs with the renowned NBA superstar, Michael Jordan, Warner Bros. had high expectations for the film "Space Jam." However...
With the "Spider-Man" film also scheduled for the same date as "Space Jam," Warner Bros. wasn't entirely certain whether it would still achieve the anticipated success. After all, facing such a challenging situation...
Simultaneously, they considered that if KiShin's "Spider-Man" fell short of expectations, it could be an opportunity for Warner Bros. to surpass it with "Space Jam." Rather than succumbing to fear, Warner Bros. decided to market "Space Jam" in a similar manner to the promotion of "Spider-Man."
Warner Bros. recognizes that while the "Spider-Man" film boasts impressive CGI, the pacing of the story might not be as strong. After all, its director, Sam Raimi, lacked experience in superhero movies, having directed only one with less-than-impressive success.
Moreover, Warner Bros. has Michael Jordan as the star of their movie, a factor likely to attract many, especially basketball fans. So, they believe they stand a high chance of making KiShin Pictures realize they can't simply launch an attack on one of the "Big Six."
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Trailers for "Spider-Man" and "Space Jam" graced television channels, capturing the attention of many anticipating two potentially blockbuster films set to release on November 15, 1996.
In a specific location in the USA, a group of friends gathered to discuss the upcoming films in November.
"Guys, what do you think of the 'Spider-Man' adaptation? From the trailer and teasers alone, I'm sure it's going to be a good movie!" a blonde young man exclaimed.
"'Spider-Man'? Nah, I don't think so. I believe the Michael Jordan movie will be the one," a tall man with dark hair stated.
"Yeah, I agree! I'm quite excited about the Michael Jordan movie."
Upon hearing his friend's opinion, the blonde young man retorted, "Really? You all want to watch a children's movie? Looney Tunes playing basketball with Michael Jordan? How on earth will that be interesting?"
The tall man frowned slightly and responded, "What do you mean, a children's movie? What about 'Spiderman'? It's a comic, right? Wasn't it meant for children too?"
Then, the red-haired young man, seated next to the blonde young man, interjected, "No. 'Spiderman' may be a comic, but it's not intended for children."
"Damn, who cares? Comics are comics," the tall man remarked before asking, "Anyway, what do you think? Should we go for the movie 'Space Jam'?"
"No. Let's go for 'Spiderman'," the red-haired young man asserted.
"You're making a mistake choosing that movie. I'll tell you, it's just going to be another superhero average movie like Superman, Batman, or something. Don't you learn at all?" Another tall young man expressed.
With this, the group appeared to split into two factions, those interested in trying the movie "Spider-Man" and those leaning towards "Space Jam."
"Let's just decide it with votes!" the blonde young man suggested as the group entered a round of debate.
The group agreed, and after posing the question of which movie to choose, they would raise their hands, and the votes would be counted.
"Spider-Man" garnered 8 votes, while "Space Jam" secured 12 votes.
With these results, the group of people decided to watch the movie "Space Jam" together.
Although others initially wanted to try the movie "Spider-Man," it doesn't mean they'd fight with their friends over a movie. Besides, they were also a bit excited to watch the Michael Jordan movie.
--
As November 15, 1996, approached, many people purchased tickets for the movies scheduled for that date. They were able to buy tickets ahead of time through Moviefone.
Movies like "Spider-Man" and "Space Jam" were undoubtedly the hot tickets about to hit the screens.
From the ticket sales, although KiShin Pictures had established a reputation in the USA, it still seemed to be slightly behind the "Big Six" film studios such as Warner Bros., as estimated by the ticket sales for "Space Jam."
While the film "Spider-Man" also boasted impressive ticket sales, it fell slightly behind the numbers for "Space Jam."
Sure enough, on November 15, 1996, the first-day box office results for "Spider-Man" and "Space Jam" were revealed.
Warner Bros. was quite exhilarated as their film "Space Jam" emerged victorious in the first battle.
Meanwhile, KiShin Pictures was not overly concerned.
Even though Warner Bros.' film won the first-day sales, it didn't guarantee continued triumph. Thus, they put their best efforts into hyping "Space Jam."
With NBA Superstar Michael Jordan himself promoting the movie to his fans, this certainly helped, as basketball fans were eager to support Michael Jordan.
On the first day, the box office result of "Spider-Man" was 14 million dollars, while the movie "Space Jam" had a first-day box office of about 22 million dollars.
Some Warner Bros. executives even celebrated the first day box office results of their movie "Space Jam," but of course, while they're partying, they know that the battle between themselves and KiShin Pictures was not yet over.
Warner Bros. desire to completely beat KiShin Pictures one-sidedly, but doubt that's possible.
So, Warner Bros. just continued marketing and promoting their movie on television channels, posters, newspapers, TV shows, etc.
The KiShin Pictures movie "Spider-Man" may be good, but Warner Bros. will do its best to maintain dominance in the daily and weekly box office results through extensive marketing and promotion.
Warner Bros.' marketing and promotion efforts were undoubtedly on another level compared to KiShin Pictures film studio, despite their few successful blockbusters.
However, KiShin Pictures was backed by KiShin Rules, and marketing and promotion were not a problem.
KiShin Merchandise has long released toys of "Spider-Man," including toys, clothing like hoodies, kids' "Spiderman" costumes, and other platforms of KiShin...
In fact, without that, the word of mouth for the "Spider-Man" movie was very important and crucial as well.
When the "Spider-Man" movie premiered at Mann Village Theatre on November 13, 1996, many people began spreading the word about the film to their friends and families.
Warner Bros. won the first-day box office, primarily due to Michael Jordan's involvement, the popularity of basketball, and Warner Bros.' excellent reputation and influence in the movie industry.
However, after the successful first and second-day box office for Warner Bros.' "Space Jam" against KiShin Pictures' "Spider-Man," the second day saw "Space Jam" not dominating the box office as it did on the first day. It was still slightly ahead of "Spider-Man," but things took a different turn on the third day at the box office.
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In a certain theater, the audience enjoyed the highly recommended movie "Spider-Man."
The audience was engrossed in watching the film, especially during the scene where Peter Parker caught the slipping Mary Jane and perfectly caught the falling food on the tray.
The audience was even more impressed by the scene where Peter Parker fought back against the bully named Flash.
The CGI scene where time seemed to stop for Peter Parker was amazing, and the slow-motion effect made kids in the cinema shout in excitement.
After that, the audience continued watching the movie with focus...
During the scene where Peter Parker ignored the robber, and coincidentally, the robber killed his Uncle Ben, it evoked mixed emotions in many audience members.
Uncle Ben left a lasting impression, especially after he said, "With great power, comes great responsibility."
Now, with Peter Parker crying while looking at his Uncle Ben, many people realized that if Peter Parker hadn't let the robber escape, his Uncle Ben wouldn't have died in such a way.
Some audience members also realized that Uncle Ben's quote, "With great power, comes great responsibility," seemed to make more sense.
The audience observed as Peter Parker was consumed by anger and hatred.
Peter Parker was clearly angry with himself for letting such a wicked criminal, the robber, get away. If he could have stopped the robber at that moment, his Uncle Ben wouldn't have needed to die.
Peter Parker also displayed an obvious amount of hatred, and the audience assumed that Peter Parker would avenge his Uncle Ben.
As expected, as the audience watched, they saw Peter Parker searching for the robber, and after finding him, he took matters into his own hands and confronted the criminal.
Some audience members couldn't understand how kids were allowed in the cinema for the screening of "Spider-Man" with its complicated story and character development of Peter Parker. However, they assumed it might be because the gory scenes were not as apparent.
As the "Spider-Man" movie, about to come to an end, inadvertently led to the death of the antagonist, who happened to be the father of Peter Parker's friend, Peter was visibly guilty as he comforted his friend for the loss of his father.
When the "Spider-Man" movie concluded, the audience even applauded for a minute or so before walking out of the cinema with satisfaction.
Many people promoted the "Spider-Man" movie with their friends, and on the third day, the box office for "Spider-Man" reached 38 million dollars.
While the "Space Jam" movie earned around 13 million dollars, there was a significant decline in box office sales for Warner Bros.
Simultaneously, with the appearance of the Marvel superhero "Spider-Man" in cinemas, many people began to take notice of Marvel Comics. Some even purchased comics featuring "Spider-Man."
Marvel Comics sales experienced a definite surge, which was evident from the first day of "Spider-Man" movie. As time passed, the sales continued to increase further.
In 1996, the internet was not as relevant as it is in the future, and entertainment primarily revolved around video games, TV shows, films, novels, and comics.
People bought comics as a source of entertainment, and after the release of "Spider-Man" in cinemas for the first few days, the popularity of Marvel Comics soared at an incredible rate in the USA market.
With the increased sales of Marvel Comics, KiShin finally began to reap profits after previously losing money on Marvel Comics. Along with the success of the "Spider-Man" movie, it can be said that KiShin has profited significantly from just one superhero movie.
As Marvel Comics gradually rose in prominence, people started to notice that Warner Bros. and DC Comics would soon face a strong competitor.
However, many disagreed with this view, feeling that Warner Bros. and DC Comics were still unreachable for KiShin Pictures and Marvel Comics. Despite the success of KiShin Pictures' "Spider-Man" movie, it doesn't necessarily mean they can consistently produce great superhero movies one after the other.