‘Kraven The Hunter’ Drops Out of Box Office Top 10

The latest Marvel film, Kraven the Hunter, which was expected to be a major box office draw, has already fallen out of the top 10 in its third weekend at the North American box office. The film, which stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Russell Crowe, was released on December 13, 2024, and has faced critical backlash since its debut.

Despite its connection to the Spider-Man universe, Kraven the Hunter has struggled to find an audience. The movie, rated R, is part of Sony Pictures Entertainment’s ongoing expansion of its Spider-Man universe, featuring various secondary characters. This strategy follows the release of other movies like Morbius, Madame Web, and the Venom trilogy. However, Kraven the Hunter has not performed as well as its predecessors, particularly the Venom films, which found considerable success in theaters.

According to The Numbers, Kraven the Hunter grossed an estimated $1.7 million over the most recent weekend, placing it at No. 11 on the domestic box office chart. This marks a significant drop for the film, which had previously earned $11 million in its opening weekend. At the time, it secured a No. 3 position, trailing behind Moana 2 and Wicked, which grossed $26.6 million and $22.5 million, respectively, to claim the top spots.

As of now, the film has accumulated $21.1 million at the domestic box office and $31.2 million internationally, bringing its global total to $52.5 million. These earnings are significantly lower than the film’s production budget, which reportedly sits at $110 million, excluding marketing and distribution costs. With its current performance, Kraven the Hunter seems unlikely to cover its budget, marking a disappointing outcome for Sony.

The film’s struggles at the box office are compounded by its reception among critics. Kraven the Hunter has received widespread negative reviews, with Rotten Tomatoes giving it a dismal 16% “rotten” rating based on 140 critic reviews. This puts the movie in the company of Madame Web, which earned an even worse 11% “rotten” rating from critics. These figures highlight a general dissatisfaction from reviewers, a stark contrast to the often-positive reception of the Venom series, which enjoyed much greater critical and audience support.

In an interview with The Los Angeles Times on December 26, outgoing Sony Pictures Entertainment CEO Tony Vinciquerra addressed the poor performance of Kraven the Hunter. Vinciquerra expressed his surprise and frustration at the film’s lackluster reception, suggesting that the film’s failure was perplexing given its quality. “Unfortunately, [Kraven the Hunter], that we launched last weekend, and my last film launch, is probably the worst launch we had in the 7 1/2 years so that didn’t work out very well, which I still don’t understand, because the film is not a bad film,” Vinciquerra remarked.

However, many critics disagreed with Vinciquerra’s assessment. Kraven the Hunter has been widely criticized for its pacing, storytelling, and lack of character depth, leading to its poor showing in reviews. While Vinciquerra remains confident in the film’s merits, the response from audiences and critics alike paints a different picture.

Vinciquerra’s comments also extended to Madame Web, another Sony film set in the Spider-Man universe that faced a similar fate at the box office. He attributed the film’s underperformance to harsh criticism from the press, which he claimed was largely responsible for the negative public perception. “Let’s just touch on Madame Web for a moment. Madame Web underperformed in the theaters because the press just crucified it. It was not a bad film, and it did great on Netflix,” Vinciquerra stated.

He suggested that there was a targeted effort from critics to undermine the success of these films, even though the audiences had shown interest in them. “For some reason, the press decided that they didn’t want us making these films out of Kraven and Madame Web, and the critics just destroyed them,” Vinciquerra added. He also pointed to the success of Venom, a film that had initially been met with skepticism but went on to become a major box office hit. “They also did it with Venom, but the audience loved Venom and made Venom a massive hit. These are not terrible films. They were just destroyed by the critics in the press, for some reason.”

Despite these challenges, Vinciquerra remains optimistic about Sony’s approach to its Spider-Man universe films. Kraven the Hunter, like Madame Web, has been defended by the studio as a film that offers value to audiences, even if the critical reception has been less than stellar. However, the low box office returns raise questions about the future direction of Sony’s strategy for expanding the Spider-Man universe beyond the mainline films featuring the iconic superhero.

Sony will need to reassess its approach if it hopes to replicate the success of its Venom films and other major superhero franchises. With Kraven the Hunter now out of the top 10 and struggling to recoup its production costs, Sony faces the difficult task of turning around its Spider-Man universe offerings and finding a formula that resonates with both critics and audiences.

As Kraven the Hunter continues its run in theaters, it remains to be seen whether it will be able to recover in the coming weeks or if it will be remembered as another costly misstep in the expanding universe of Spider-Man-related films. For now, the film’s lackluster performance serves as a cautionary tale about the challenges of building a cinematic universe and the unpredictable nature of box office success.

Despite its troubles at the box office, Kraven the Hunter is still available for viewing in theaters nationwide, giving audiences a chance to form their own opinions about the film’s merits, even if critics have already delivered their verdict.