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Spider-Man 2 is a 2004 American superhero film directed by Sam Raimi and written by Alvin Sargent from a story by Alfred Gough, Miles Millar and Michael Chabon. Based on the fictional Marvel Comics character of the same name, it is the second installment in the Spider-Man trilogy and the sequel to Spider-Man (2002), starring Tobey Maguire alongside Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Alfred Molina, Rosemary Harris, and Donna Murphy. Set two years after the events of Spider-Man, the film finds Peter Parker struggling to manage both his personal life and his duties as Spider-Man, which affects his civilian life dramatically. Meanwhile scientist and Peter's mentor Dr. Otto Octavius becomes a diabolical villain after a failed experiment kills his wife and leaves him neurologically fused to mechanical tentacles. Spider-Man must stop him from recreating the dangerous experiment while dealing with an existential crisis between his dual identities that appears to be stripping him of his powers.
Principal photography began in April 2003 in New York City and also took place in Los Angeles. Reshoots took place later that year and concluded in December.
Spider-Man 2 was released in both conventional and IMAX theaters on June 30, 2004. It received widespread acclaim from critics, who praised its emotional weight and visual effects, as well as Maguire and Molina's performances and Raimi's direction, and grossed $789 million worldwide, making it the third-highest-grossing film of the year. The film won Best Visual Effects at the 77th Academy Awards, and was also nominated for Best Sound Mixing and Best Sound Editing; furthermore, it received five awards at the Saturn Awards, including Best Fantasy Film and Best Director for Raimi. The film is widely regarded as one of the greatest superhero films ever made and a blueprint for future movies in the genre. Its success led to Spider-Man 3 (2007). Maguire and Molina reprised their roles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), which dealt with the concept of the multiverse and linked the Raimi franchise to the MCU.
