Movie Power Rankings: 'The Amazing Spider-Man' ensares 'Thor' in its web for no. 1

"The Amazing Spider-Man" swings into action.

Credit: Sony Pictures

The next "Spider-Man" movie is a little under 17 months away, but Sony Pictures is leaving no opportunity unturned to get the buzz going for their expected blockbuster reboot.  The studio has already released an image of Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker in his Spider-Man costume without his mask on and this week they delivered a triple dose of news.  First, the film was officially titled "The Amazing Spider-Man" (it's about time).  Second, it was revealed the entire picture will be shot in 3D (higher 3D tickets mean higher profits for Sony stockholders - yay?).  And third, fans got their first look at the Wall-Crawler in his complete costume and in action.

As with the first photo, the color scheme of the costume is decidedly richer or darker than in the Raimi movies.  It reminds many comic book fans of the art in Ultimate Spider-Man and is purposely missing the silver raised webbing of the last three movies.  There is some debate as to whether his eyes are yellow (that would be new), but real webshooters have purists excited.  

Overall, the new "Spidey" info was enough to hold off the full trailer for "Thor" -- which just expanded on footage from the teaser and Super Bowl spot -- for the top spot.  Only 17 more months to keep everyone excited Sony.  Good luck with that...

As for the rest of this week's rankings...

Feb. 11, 2011



1. "Spider-Man" (not ranked)
Call us crazy, but we like the costume better than the Rami movies.



2. "Thor" (last week no. 4)
The Earthbound comedy is scaring us, but we're drooling over Asgard.



3. "Just Bieber Never Say Never" (last week no. 15)



4. Academy Awards (last week no. 5)
Ballots are due Tuesday at 5 PM PST.  Who's nervous the most? 


5. "The Dark Knight Rises" (not ranked)
Marion Cotillard appears to be reuniting with Christopher Nolan after last summer's "Inception." Anyone ever notice Nolan has never put Guy Pearce or Carrie-Ann Moss in any of his films since "Memento"?


6. "Iron Man" (not ranked)
Longtime Robert Downey, Jr. buddy Shane Black is on his way to directing "Iron Man 3" and, happily, not many fans are complaining.

7. "Superman" (not ranked)
Henry Cavill gets the cover of EW (yeah, I didn't notice either) as Zack Snyder gushes about how he looked in the Christopher Reeve era "Superman" costume.

8. "The King's Speech" (same)
By the time you read this, "Speech" will have surpassed "The Social Network's" $96 million domestic cume and should have a larger worldwide gross by the end of Oscar weekend.  Just sayin'.


9. Melissa Leo (last week no. 12)
Leo isn't talking about her ads anymore, but it's still topic of conversation in the industry.  One suggestion: avoid the red carpet interviews on your way to the Kodak Ms. Leo. Trust us.

10. "I Am Number Four" (last week no. 14)
DreamWorks first picture since leaving Paramount will easily win the President's Day four-day weekend.  Whether it spurs a franchise remains to be seen.


11. Arnold Schwarzenegger (not ranked)
He's baaaaaccckkkk and he wants work.  Yawn.



12. "Dark Shadows" (not ranked)
The idea of Michelle Pfeiffer reuniting with Tim Burton for the first time since "Batman Returns" excites us.  The idea Helena Bonham Carter would segue from her first Oscar nomination in 13 years to yet another movie with her husband does not.

13. "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" (last week no. 14)
Mary Elizabeth Winstead gets her shot at another potential blockbuster.  Fingers crossed this one works.



14. "Red Riding Hood" (not ranked)
Based on pre-release tracking, director Catherine Hardwicke appears to have another big hit on her hands. Who knew?



15. "Men in Black 3" (not ranked)
Shooting is on hiatus with half the film in the can. Anyone notice is the reaction is more of ambivelance than anyting else?


Last week's rankings:

Feb. 11, 2011



Movie Power Rankings appear every Thursday except when they don't.  What do you think of this week's rankings?  Share your thoughts below.
 

Gregory Ellwood
Editor-in-Chief, Co-Founder

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With over a decade of experience in the movie industry, Ellwood survived working for two major studios and has written for Variety, MSN and the LA Times. A co-founder of HitFix, Ellwood spends his time relaxing hitting 3’s on the basketball court and following his beloved Clippers.