Spiderman Swings into Berlin

The heart of Germany's capital has been caught in the dazzling web of Spiderman fever. A huge model of the blue and red superhero adorns the Sony Center at Potsdamer Platz, and "Spiderman II" stars, Tobey Maguire and his screen sweetheart Kirsten Dunst are in town for tonight's European premiere of the long-awaited film. The sequal to the massive box-office hit doesn't go on general release in Germany until Thursday, but the nation is already in a spin. Cinemas across the country are offering special Spiderman double feature nights, billboards and magazines are splattered with the unmistakable masked, muscular man, and merchandising lines the counters of stores up and down the country. Film company, Columbia TriStar has called the movie the highlight of the year, and if US box office takings on its first day of release are anything to go by, then they are probably right. The film took €32.9 million ($40.5 million) in one day, and looks set to go down in similar fashion on this side of the Atlantic.