"The movie's strong suit is the shock'n'awe of its special effects. Its weak suit is the attempts at emotional depth," said Philip French of The Observer.

"SM3 has its moments, but it's overlong and messy with a number of disjointed story lines," reported Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian.

But Spidey fans - me included, though I agree with the critics that the latest film is the least entertaining of the three - didn't seem to mind, as the movie has already rewritten the record books.

Yes, the summer blockbuster season has officially begun.

The Hollywood Reporter website reported that last weekend, the third instalment in Sam Raimi's super-saga actually took in US$151 million in North America instead of the $148 million of a preliminary estimate. That comes out at Bt5.25 billion - a nice chunk of change.

Internationally, "Spider-Man 3" went on to grab $231 million by the end of its first weekend in theatres. By Sunday night, the film, which began showing on May 1, had racked up a worldwide gross of $382 million, again $7 million more than the initial estimate.

The Hollywood Reporter said "Spider-Man 3" played at 8,900 locations abroad and scored the biggest weekend of all time in 29 countries, including the US, Canada, Japan, South Korea, China, Italy, Mexico and Brazil.

The blockbuster performance was thanks largely to the shrewd marketing strategy of the "Spider-Man" sequel, which has raised audiences' appetite to see Spidey turned into a black-suited double taken over by an alien parasite.

Nonetheless, "Spider-Man 3" may have only two weeks to enjoy the top spot on the US and global box-office charts before another Hollywood juggernaut, the third "Pirates of the Caribbean" flick, hits the screens.

Inside the SEC

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which has at times been criticised for its handling of scandals involving the previous government, is trying to adjust its image by becoming more accessible to the public. Recently, it launched a new programme on Channel 5, "Inside", to educate the public about the stock exchange.

The programme will be aired on alternate Wednesdays starting today from 3.30-4pm. The first week will feature SEC secretary-general Thirachai Phuvanatnaranubala as host. The programme sounds impressive, but we can't guarantee that every stock trader will gain a profit from following its advice.

jeerawat@nationgroup.com