Kidder reprised her role as Lois Lane in "Superman II" (1980), though she publicly disagreed with the decision of producers Alexander Salkind and Ilya Salkind to replace Richard Donner as director. "Superman II" was also a box-office hit, grossing $108 million in the United States. Through her appearances in the "Superman" films, Kidder maintained a close friendship with her co-star Christopher Reeve, which lasted from 1978 until his death in 2004: "When you're strapped to someone hanging from the ceiling for months and months, you get pretty darned close," Kidder told CBS. "He was such a huge part of my life... He was complicated, very smart, really smart, and he knew he'd done something meaningful. He was very aware of that and very happy with that role." Also in 1980, she appeared in Paul Mazursky's romantic comedy "Willie & Phil", playing one-third of a love triangle opposite Michael Ontkean and Ray Sharkey.