After recently witnessing one of the most lucrative stretches in years, the domestic box office is looking at a downturn in revenue this weekend. Sony’s latest Spider-Man spin-off, Kraven the Hunter, is bombing in its debut weekend at the box office, signaling a sorry end to the short-lived franchise. Other studios, most notably Universal, have tried and failed at mimicking the Marvel formula in the past, but at least Sony can claim partial success thanks to the three Venom movies. The latest installment, Venom: The Last Dance, debuted with a little over $50 million some months ago; Kraven the Hunter is looking at a fifth of that haul.
Starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson and directed by the Oscar-nominated J.C. Chandor, Kraven the Huntergrossed an estimated $11 million in its opening weekend. This is the lowest debut of the franchise, below even the $15 million that the widely derided Madame Webmade in its first weekend of release. The equally reviled Morbius, on the other hand, grossed a comparatively impressive $39 million in its first weekend. Produced on a reported budget of $110 million, Kraven the Hunter was massively delayed and has received terrible reviews. It holds a 15% rating on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, in addition to a disappointing C CinemaScore from opening day crowds.
Retaining its crown for the third time in a row, Disney’s Moana 2generated over $25 million this weekend, pushing its running domestic total to over $335 million. The film hasn’t been as beloved as the original Moana, which holds a 96% Rotten Tomatoes score and has continued to earn fans on streaming in the eight years since its release. With a 62% RT score, Moana 2 witnessed a steeper-than-expected drop this weekend but should continue to perform until Sonic the Hedgehog 3 cuts into its audience next week.
Total Business This Weekend Hovered Around the $90 Million Mark
At number two, Universal’s Wicked registered another strong performance. Now in its fourth weekend of release, the musical blockbuster grossed an estimated $22 million, taking its running domestic total to just under the $360 million mark. Passing $400 million domestically is all but guaranteed at this point, and it’ll be interesting to observe if the movie has enough fuel to hit the $500 million milestone eventually. The fourth spot was claimed by Paramount’s Gladiator II, which debuted alongside Wicked in a highly anticipated face-off last month. The swords-and-sandals epic generated around $8 million this weekend, pushing its domestic total closer to the $150 million mark.
The fifth spot went to Red One, the costly action-adventure starring Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans. Even though the film landed on Prime Video this week, it was able to generate around $5 million, taking it one step closer to the coveted $100 million milestone. It’s all optics, however, because the movie cost more than $250 million to produce, and was originally supposed to debut directly on streaming.
Even in its fifth weekend, Red One managed to make more money than Warner Bros.’ debutante, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim. The anime feature, produced in part so that the studio could hold onto the property’s rights, grossed just $5 million in its debut. Elsewhere, Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar enjoyed a boost in its extended re-release, passing the $10 million mark, while a couple of films — Gia Coppola’s The Last Showgirl and RaMell Ross’ Nickel Boys — debuted in limited release. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
Your changes have been saved
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.
Image via Sony Pictures Releasing
English (US) ·