‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ grosses $7.5 million post-midnight

“The Amazing Spider-Man�crawled into theaters in the wee hours on Tuesday and grossed $7.5 million from post-midnight screenings.

An estimated $1.2 million of that sum came from Imax theaters, distributor Sony Pictures said.

Because the $230-million production opened on a Tuesday to take advantage of the July 4 holiday crowds, it’s difficult to compare the 3-D film’s late-night grosses to those of movies that have debuted closer to the weekend. Earlier this year, both�The Hunger Games�and�The Avengers�brought in nearly $20 million apiece from post-midnight showings, but both opened on a Friday.

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The late-night debut of the new “Spider-Man�handily beat launches of 2012 films like “Prometheus�and “Men in Black 3,�which each made under $5 million during the same time frame. But the $7.5-million figure doesn’t come close to approaching the $43.5 million that the final “Harry Potter� film collected upon its pre-sunrise start.

Interestingly, Sony said that its “Spider-Man 3� similarly grossed $7.5 million from screenings after 12:01 a.m. But that film opened five years ago and did not have the benefit of pricier 3-D and Imax ticket sales.

Industry polling suggests “The Amazing Spider-Man,� starring Andrew Garfield, could rake in as much as $150 million by Sunday. However, Sony is sticking to a more conservative estimate of between $110 million and $120 million.

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‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ hopes to sling $150 million by SundayFollow Amy Kaufman on Twitter @AmyKinLA