India, Aug. 14 -- Considering that he's a scrappy kid from a decidedly unglamorous part of New York City, Spider-Man has no business being so popular in India, a land of over-the-top heroes such as Dhurandhar.

The masked superhero is the quintessential little guy. He lives in Queens, is not rich, has no flashy gadgets. Even after an upgrade of some cutting-edge technology, his uniform looks like a onesie topped off with a homemade mask.

To quote Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, "This is small, baby potato stuff."

Yet in 2002, Spider-Man (then played by Tobey Maguire) made history when it became the first Hollywood film to earn more than $1 million in India. Subsequent films in the franchise did well too. But ...