The worldwide ownership and copyright, including remake, sequel, and distribution rights, to the cult classic horror sci-fi film The Giant Spider Invasion (Transcentury Pictures, 1975).

Together with four vintage reels of 35mm Eastman stock film footage with 1975 date codes, containing the original edited negative of the film and four corresponding reels of optical audio containing the soundtrack and dialogue for the film, with accompanying storage cans.

The story of The Giant Spider Invasion follows a pair of scientists, a cheerful sheriff, and a dysfunctional family of farmers as they navigate an extraterrestrial terror when a meteorite crashes through a black hole and lands in the fields of rural Wisconsin. Chunks of the meteorite fall off leading the eclectic cast of characters to find that the chunks contain diamonds, but also alien spiders, including one that grows to be 25 feet! With the spider descending on the residents of the small Wisconsin town, the scientists must act quickly to come up with a solution to stop the giant arachnid for good, or else watch as its reign of terror and destruction continues across the rest of the country and the world.

The Giant Spider Invasion was the brain child of independent film pioneer, Bill Rebane. A Latvian/Estonian immigrant who fled to America with his family in 1952, Rebane worked his way through film production in the States and Germany until he landed in Gleason, Wisconsin where he bought a farm and turned into a production studio dubbed “The Shooting Ranch.” It was here that he started making his first feature exploitation films, including what would become his biggest success – The Giant Spider Invasion.

Shot around the rural communities of Gleason, Merrill, and Wausau, Wisconsin for a budget of only $325,000, Rebane and his crew came up with creative solutions to bring the special effects of The Giant Spider Invasion to life. Rebane originally wanted to have controllable 9 ft. spiders, but the film’s backers insisted that it needed a spider “bigger than Jaws” in order to bring in the kind of audience they wanted. So alongside Special Effects artist Bob Millay, Rebane had the giant spider built into a Volkswagen Beetle that could be driven around with crew members inside to move the spider’s legs as it terrorized the victims of Wisconsin. An additional 25 ft. long spider was built for the close-up shots of the spider eating humans and was dropped on top of a house it attacks in the film. Millay also served as the on-set wrangler for the live tarantulas that appear in the film.

The Giant Spider Invasion became a hit when it was released, finding most of its success at drive-in theatres. It eventually grossed $22-24 million upon its initial release, making it one of the Top 50 grossing films of 1975. It outgrossed such films as Peter Bogdanovich’s musical starring Burt Reynolds At Long Last Love, the John Wayne vehicle Brannigan, the Jack Nicholson-Michelangelo Antonioni team-up The Passenger, Rudy Ray Moore’s blaxploitation cult film Dolemite, Peter Weir’s mysterious classic Picnic at Hanging Rock, The Who’s rock opera Lisztomania, and the film named #1 best film ever made by Sight and Sound in 2022 Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles. It has continued to be a revenue generating machine, with a reported over $150 million return for the film from all of its various releases over time.

The film enjoyed enormous success outside of the US as well, playing in countries all over the world such as Argentina, France, Turkey, Spain, England, Italy, Mexico, Australia, and Japan. It was such a success in Japan that a Magna adaptation of the film was released there in 1976. The film graced the cover of both the September 29, 1975 issue of Boxoffice Magazine and the August 1976 issue of Movie News magazine with the headline: “See ‘Jaws’ Then ‘The Giant Spider Invasion.’”

In the five decades since its release, The Giant Spider Invasion has amassed a cult following of lovers of sci-fi, horror, B-movies. It found a new amount of popularity when it was featured on an episode of the beloved comedy series Mystery Science Theater 3000 in 1997, quickly becoming a fan-favorite episode. The Giant Spider Invasion has become a mainstay of the MST3K family as it has also been featured in the live shows of its spiritual sister, RiffTrax Live!

Now about to celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2025, Julien’s is proud to offer this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to acquire the ownership rights of this beloved creature feature. Underlying IP rights such as this are rarely, if ever, up for public auction, making this a unique chance for a true fan, entrepreneur, investor, or up-and-coming filmmaker to obtain the ability to control a title that is a part of cinema history. The film is ripe for a reimagining with a built-in high concept and worldwide notoriety in both the sci-fi / horror community and with camp cult classic aficionados. There is a reason that a film like The Giant Spider Invasion has lasted for almost 50 years, and the ability to capitalize on that reason as a future investment is only a bid away.

Stephen King wrote about The Giant Spider Invasion in his 1981 non-fiction book Danse Macabre, saying, “Although the film actually had only one giant spider, it is a dilly. It is impossible to see such a budget-conscious special effect without feeling a wave of admiration.”

Upon purchase, the winning bidder will receive a notarized sworn statement from current rights holder, Bill Rebane and Transcentury Pictures, confirming the transference of copyright to the buyer. The buyer will also be given a digital copy of the film.

Accompanied by a copy of the poster for the film, signed by director Bill Rebane.

Notice: The winning bidder is responsible for ensuring that proper copyright transfer of ownership from current rights holder is completed in accordance with the stated guidelines from the United States Copyright Office.