‘Amazing Spider-Man’ Snares $7.5 Million In Midnight Screenings

First Published: July 3, 2012 1:58 PM EDT Credit: Sony Pictures

Caption Andrew Garfield stars as Spider-Man in Columbia Pictures’ ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- The new Spider-Man has launched with the same midnight magic as the old one.

“The Amazing Spider-Man” pulled in $7.5 million from its debut screenings Tuesday just after midnight. According to distributor Sony Pictures, that matches the amount that “Spider-Man 3” took in from its first midnight screenings in 2007 on the way to what was then a record $151.1 million opening weekend.

Midnight screenings generally have become bigger business since then, hitting a peak as fans shelled out $43.5 million for midnight shows of the “Harry Potter” finale last summer.

While “The Amazing Spider-Man” is well back in the pack by comparison, its midnight debut hints at strong box office through the Fourth of July weekend, with industry expectations as high as $120 million in its first six days.

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