Like several of its competitors in the past, Sony is calling the time of death on its attempts to create a shared universe of films in the vein of the MCU. The studio’s latest release, Kraven the Hunter, is reportedly going to be the final installment of its Spider-Man spin-off series (though this is now being disputed by Variety) These are movies featuring popular villainous characters that (sort of) share continuity with some version of Spider-Man (though not any of the live-action versions we've already met). Kraven the Hunter is looking at a series-low box office debut, on the back of terrible reviews and a complete rejection by opening day audiences.
According to the polling platform CinemaScore, those who watched Kraven the Hunter are unlikely to recommend it to others. It earned a poor C grade from the opening day crowds, which, remarkably, is lower than the C+ grades that its fellow Spider-Man spin-offs Morbius and Madame Web received from audiences. Both those movies are widely considered to be the nadir of the superhero genre, earning poor reviews and inspiring countless derogatory memes on social media. Only the recent Joker: Folie à Deux and the 2015 Fantastic Four have earned worse CinemaScores as far as comic book movies are concerned.
Starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson in the titular role, Kraven the Hunter is also the second-lowest rated film of the franchise, as per the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. It currently shares a 15% score with Morbius. Madame Web, on the other hand, has an even worse 11% RT rating. Of the franchise's six films, only the three Venom movies can be counted as successful, although none of them have “fresh” RT scores either. That being said, they’ve grossed a combined total of over $1.8 billion worldwide. Morbius and Madame Web, on the other hand, have only made a combined total of around $270 million globally.
Sony's Spider-Man Universe Is Going Out with a Whimper
On the bright side, Sony appears to have exerted tight control on the costs of these films. Like Venom: The Last Dance, Kraven the Hunter was produced on a reported budget of around $120 million; this is around half of what studios these days tend to spend on tent-pole superhero movies. The film is directed by the Oscar-nominated J.C. Chandor, who remains best-known for the drama-thrillers Margin Call and A Most Violent Year. Also starring Ariana DeBose, Christopher Abbott, Fred Hechinger, Russell Crowe and Alessandro Nivola, the film is playing in theaters.
Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
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Kraven the Hunter
Kraven the Hunter explores the origin story of Sergei Kravinoff, known as Kraven, as he navigates his tumultuous relationship with his father, Nikolai. This path of vengeance sets Kraven on a journey to become a formidable hunter with a reputation for fearsome brutality.
Director J.C. Chandor
English (US) ·