Sony says pirated 'Spider-Man 3' DVDs are fakes

Sony Pictures Entertainment on Tuesday said DVDs in China that were reported to be pirated copies of widely anticipated Spider-Man 3 are in fact copies of its predecessor, Spider-Man 2. The movie about a crime-fighting superhero with spider-like powers will not be released to theaters until May 4 after a series of global premieres that began last week in Tokyo.

"Contrary to news reports about stolen copies of Spider-Man 3 being sold illegally on the streets in China, our investigation in China has revealed no case of the film being pirated to date," Sony Pictures said in a statement. "After an initial investigation of online sites worldwide, we have so far found no pirated copies of Spider-Man 3 on the Internet."