Tobey Maguire is the Most Popular Spider-Man, Not Andrew Garfield – Netflix Confirms
A new Netflix report reveals Tobey Maguire is the streamer’s most popular Spider-Man this year. Maguire’s movies accrued over 59.5 million viewing hours, beating out fellow Spider-Men stars Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland. The report tracked engagement with the various Spider-Man films currently on Netflix. It found Maguire’s five appearances as the web-slinger attracted the most subscribers by a wide margin.
Why is Tobey Maguire’s trilogy so enduringly popular?
According to ScreenRant, Tom Holland‘s three Spider-Man films took second place with 48.9 million hours viewed. Andrew Garfield‘s The Amazing Spider-Man 1 and 2 garnered 36.2 million hours watched. Bringing up the rear was Into the Spider-Verse voice actor Shameik Moore, whose animated adventures earned 12.5 million viewing hours.
In total, Netflix showed over 100 million hours of Spider-Man movies this year across 11 films. So while Tobey Maguire is the most viewed, all the Spider-Men succeeded in hooking subscribers.
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Directed by Sam Raimi, Maguire’s original Spider-Man trilogy starring Kirsten Dunst and James Franco helped launch Hollywood’s modern superhero era. The three films earned a massive $2.5 billion total worldwide.
Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy focuses on Peter Parker’s journey from high school outcast to adult hero, with Tobey Maguire bringing emotional depth to the famed role. As “Peter-Two” in the Marvel multiverse, Maguire’s Spider-Man balances struggling college studies, work as a Daily Bugle photographer, and crimefighting in Raimi’s signature style.
Raimi cast Maguire after an extensive search, impressed by his nuanced performances in films like The Cider House Rules. Maguire then physically trained to capture Spider-Man’s athletic movements, even studying how spiders crawl and leap.
Nostalgia for Raimi’s groundbreaking vision likely fuels continued interest in Maguire’s take on the iconic Marvel hero. Fans were electrified when he returned alongside Garfield in last year’s Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Will we see Tobey Maguire back in live action again soon?
Rumors persist that Maguire and Raimi plan to reunite for Spider-Man 4 over 15 years after they walked away from the franchise. And given the success of No Way Home’s multiversal storyline, it seems plausible studios could tap Maguire for future Spider-Verse cameos or even solo films.
Critics praised Maguire for capturing Peter Parker’s earnest integrity alongside Spider-Man’s superhero charms and powers. He compellingly handles relationships ranging from childhood best friend Harry Osborn to love interest Mary Jane Watson over the trilogy’s coming-of-age storyline.
The popularity of Raimi’s live-action adaptation spawned multiple tie-in video games featuring Maguire’s web-slinger. An animated series set in the trilogy’s continuity, with Maguire voicing the hero, further cemented this version’s appeal. Years later, fans affectionately dubbed him the “Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man”.
For now, viewers can re-watch Maguire’s original trilogy on Netflix and judge for themselves why he remains the definitive Spider-Man for so many.
