With a $250 million budget, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 didn't do as well as its predecessors, garnering "only" $202 million in domestic gross sales ($708 million worldwide total), making it the lowest earning Spider-Man in the franchise. The first Spider-Man shown in 2002 earned $403 million locally ($822 million worldwide) with a budget of $140 million. With its sales on a downward slope – as well as its ratings – it's no wonder that Sony had pushed back the showing of The Amazing Spider-Man 3 to 2018.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy both have budgets of $170 million, and the two Marvel movies have both passed the $250 million mark in domestic total gross sales, with GotG still going strong in theaters. Even Disney's Maleficent had surpassed Spidey, with its current sales domestically at $238 million (budget of $180 million). This makes some superhero fans think that the fate of the web-slinger would be better in the hands of its makers – Marvel (a subsidiary of Disney).
But Sony, it seems, is still trying to get Spider-Man up on his feet. According to Variety, the company will be releasing the Amazing Spider-Man 3 in 2018, two years later than previously planned, to give way to a spin-off of Sinister Six. This means that the original plan of releasing a fourth Amazing Spider-Man has either been pushed further back or has been put on hold.
Sinister Six will feature the villains of the Spider-Man world, including Doctor Octopus, Kraven the Hunter, Mysterio, the Vulture, Sandman, and Electro; and Venom. Drew Goddard will pen the film, and is set to be released on Nov. 11 two years from now.
