Spider-Man 2 (2004)
There's a hero in all of us.
Peter Parker is going through a major identity crisis. Burned out from being Spider-Man, he decides to shelve his superhero alter ego, which leaves the city suffering in the wake of carnage left by the evil Doc Ock. In the meantime, Parker still can't act on his feelings for Mary Jane Watson, a girl he's loved since childhood. A certain anger begins to brew in his best friend Harry Osborn as well...
| Type | Movie |
|---|---|
| Released | 25 June 2004 |
| Genre | Action, Adventure, Science Fiction |
| Director | Sam Raimi |
| Starring | Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst and James Franco |
| Runtime | 127 min |
| Rated | PG-13 |
| Scores | Rotten Tomatoes (average) 8.3/10 · Metacritic 83/100 · Rotten Tomatoes 93% · TMDB users 7.3/10 |
| Budget | $200 million |
| Box office | $789 million worldwide |
Where to watch Spider-Man 2
Spider-Man 2 is streaming on Disney+ ($15.99 a month) in the US. It is also on Fubo. If that is the only reason to subscribe, one month of Disney+ is $15.99 at list price.
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What kind of watch this is
Sam Raimi’s 2004 sequel turns the superhero genre into a quiet character study about burnout. Peter Parker wants to hang up the mask, but the city refuses to let him. The villain, Doc Ock, is a tragedy, not just a threat. That reflection makes the stakes feel personal rather than planetary. The film runs 127 minutes, which is long enough to convince you that a man can lose himself just by trying to be good. It is a movie about the cost of saving people.
What the critics said
Critics treated the sequel with more respect than the original. Rotten Tomatoes reports a 93% approval rating based on 276 reviews as of January 2026. Metacritic lands on 83 out of 100, a score it files under universal acclaim. Roger Ebert gave it 4 out of 4 stars, calling it the best superhero movie since the modern genre was launched with Superman (1978). He liked how it combined effects with a human story. Not everyone was convinced. J. Hoberman of The Village Voice found the first half talky bordering on tiresome.
How it did with audiences
It cost $200 million and took in $789 million worldwide, with $374 million coming from the United States. The math is simple enough that the accounting department probably stopped doing it. On TMDB, users rate it 7.3 out of 10.
What came next for the cast
Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst entered the sequel fresh off the original, then spent the next year in a separate film before returning for the third. James Franco jumped from a rom-com lead to a superhero sidekick, a pivot that sticks. Alfred Molina had already acted alongside Harrison Ford in Raiders of the Lost Ark, a credit that outshines most of his post-spider work. The credits list what they listed. They do not explain why some trajectories spiked while others drifted.
Where it left its mark
Critics have reached a consensus that places this sequel ahead of its predecessor. Rolling Stone ranked it the second-best superhero film of all time in 2022, behind Black Panther. Empire magazine called it bigger and better, praising Alfred Molina’s villain and Sam Raimi’s confident direction. Al Horner of The Independent argued in 2019 that it laid the blueprint for the modern genre. David Caballero of Digital Trends named it the best superhero movie ever for its 20th anniversary in 2024. IndieWire ranked it 21st among the 100 best movie sequels in 2026. The rankings are surprisingly consistent.
If you liked this
TMDB's recommendations for people who watched Spider-Man 2.
Read more: The Amazing Spider-Man 2 · Spider-Man: No Way Home · Spider-Man: Homecoming
Sources
- Spider-Man 2 on TMDB — synopsis, cast, ratings and recommendations
- Wikidata Q190145 — review scores, box office and awards (CC0)
- “Spider-Man 2” on Wikipedia, by its contributors (history) — reception, audience figures and legacy, summarised and adapted here under CC BY-SA 4.0
- Where to watch and prices: Binge Boss, from TMDB watch-provider data (powered by JustWatch) and our own provider list
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