'Kraven the Hunter' Bombs in Opening Weekend
by EG
Expectations were not high for Sony's latest Marvel movie, Kraven the Hunter, but the movie's poor ticket sales were disappointing even in respect to the low bar it faced. The film's dismal showing further bolstered the suspicions that the era of blockbuster superhero movies might be over. Meanwhile, Wicked and Moana 2 continued to prop up the year's box office. Read on for details.
Sony’s first R-rated comic book movie Kraven the Hunter bombed in its domestic box office debut this weekend, hunting down only $11 million to come in third behind Thanksgiving blockbusters Moana 2 and Wicked.
Kraven supplanted Madame Web to rank as the worst start ever for a Sony-produced Marvel comic book movie (the studio has rights to the Spider-Man universe), and one of the worst for any pic based on a Marvel character, not adjusted for inflation.
Reviewers ravaged the film, while audiences slapped it with a C CinemaScore. The pic also missed its target overseas, grossing a mere $15 million from 60 markets for a global debut of $26 million.
Kraven, starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the titular antihero, wasn’t cheap, costing $110 million to make instead of an intended $90 million because of pandemic and strike-related delays. Its release date was also pushed several times. Russell Crowe, Ariana DeBose, Fred Hechinger and Alessandro Nivola co-star in J.C. Chandor’s action-thriller about the vigilante son of a Russian gangster who has incredible strength.
Kraven is more bad news for Sony following Madame Web as it tries to mine the hundreds of Spider-Man-related characters it has the rights to. Sony insiders have marketed the film as an R-rated action pic akin to such titles as John Wick, versus a comic book movie.
The weekend’s other new major studio release, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, is looking at a fifth or sixth place with around $5 million. The Warner Bros. and New Line animated feature takes place far before the events of Lord of the Rings.
Get the rest of the story at The Hollywood Reporter.