<P> The Amazing Spider - Man is a 2012 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Spider - Man, and sharing the title of the character's longest - running comic book . It is the fourth theatrical Spider - Man film produced by Columbia Pictures and Marvel Entertainment, and a reboot of Sam Raimi's Spider - Man 2002--2007 trilogy preceding it . The film was directed by Marc Webb . It was written by James Vanderbilt, Alvin Sargent and Steve Kloves and it stars Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker / Spider - Man, alongside Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Campbell Scott, Irrfan Khan, Martin Sheen and Sally Field . The film tells the story of Peter Parker, an introverted teenager from New York City, who takes up the alias of a masked vigilante: Spider - Man, after being bitten by a genetically engineered spider, and gaining spider - like superhuman abilities as a result, in order to hunt down his adoptive father / uncle's murderer . Eventually, Parker is compelled to stop his father's former scientific partner: Dr. Curt Connors, one of OsCorp's top biological researchers, who has accidentally exposed himself to an experimental mutagen, which has hampered his sanity and imbued him with a monstrous reptilian alter - ego, from spreading a mutation serum to the city's human population . </P> <P> Development of the film began with the cancellation of Spider - Man 4 in 2010, ending director Sam Raimi's Spider - Man film series that originally featured Tobey Maguire as the titular superhero . Columbia Pictures opted to reboot the franchise with the same production team along with James Vanderbilt to stay on with writing the next Spider - Man film while Alvin Sargent and Steve Kloves helped with the script as well . During pre-production, the main characters were cast in 2010 . New designs were introduced from the comics, such as artificial web - shooters . Using Red Digital Cinema Camera Company's RED Epic camera, principal photography started in December 2010 in Los Angeles before moving to New York City . The film entered post-production in April 2011 . 3ality Technica provided 3D image processing, and Sony Pictures Imageworks handled CGI . This was also the final American film to be scored by James Horner and released during his lifetime, before his death in 2015 from an aircraft accident . </P> <P> Sony Pictures Entertainment built a promotional website, releasing many previews and launched a viral marketing campaign, among other moves . Tie - ins included a video game by Beenox . The film premiered on June 30 in Tokyo, and was released in the United States on July 3, ten years after release of Spider - Man (2002), in 2D, 3D and IMAX 3D and released in home media in November 2012 . The reboot received generally favorable reviews, with critics praising mostly Andrew Garfield's performance, the visual style, James Horner's musical score, and the realistic portrayal of the title character, but criticized some underdeveloped story - lines, noting the film's deleted scenes, and the introduction of the Lizard as the villain for being too surreal for the film . The film was a box office success, grossing over $757 million worldwide, becoming the seventh highest - grossing film of 2012 . The film's sequel, The Amazing Spider - Man 2, was released on May 2, 2014 . </P> <P> A young Peter Parker discovers that his father Richard Parker's study has been burgled . Peter's parents gather hidden documents, take Peter to the home of his Aunt May and Uncle Ben, and then mysteriously depart . </P>

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