Summary
Kraven the Hunter’s woes at the box office keep compiling, as it bags yet another abysmal record for Sony during its second weekend in theaters.
Filming forKraven the Hunterwrapped in 2022 but its release was delayed following the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Despite starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Russell Crowe and Ariana DeBose—names with relative popularity in Hollywood—Kraven the Hunter’s theatrical debut has been met with a wall of critical and commercial disaster, one even worse than previous failures in Sony’sSpider-Manuniverse such asMorbiusandMadame Web. A disastrous $26 million global opening has fueled rumors ofSony selling the rights to Spider-Manback to Marvel are already swirling, as are reports ofKraven the Hunterbeing the last movie in its franchise, but so far unconfirmed.
Kraven the Hunter’s Second Weekend Drop Is Among the Steepest for Comic Book Movies
According to data fromBox Office Mojo,and corroborated by box office analystLuiz Fernando on X,Kraven the Hunterhas grossed just $3.1 million in its second three-day weekend in North American screens, which translates to a -71.8% drop from the$15 million of its opening weekend. Not only is this the steepest for any film in the Sony Spider-Man franchise, but it also joins the embarrassing list of movies with the biggest second-weekend drops at the box office. Among comic book movies,Kraven the Hunterclimbs even higher, ranking sixth—just behind the -72.5% of DC’sThe Flash.
-81.4%
-78.1%
-78%
-73.8%
-72.5%
-71.8%
-71.5%
-70.7%
Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania
-69.9%
Hulk
-67.7%
Fortunately forKraven the Hunter, it isn’t crowned with the biggest second-weekend drop of all time for a comic book movie; that record belongs toJoker: Folie à Deux’s -81.4% drop. Unfortunately for the film though, these numbers are even bleaker than the franchise-low $11 million it hauled in its opening weekend at the domestic market.As of the time of this writing,Kraven the Hunterhas grossed $42.8 million against a reported production budget of $110 million.
The reason forKraven the Hunter’s bombing at the box office—even after Sony’s aggressive promotion,director J.C. Chandor’s plea to fansto give the movie a chance, and hints of possible links to the Marvel Cinematic Universe—is likely a toxic mix of sour precedence, poor reviews, desperation from the film’s crew and stiff competition. Although it most likely wouldn’t have altered the outcome, the arrival ofMufasaandSonic the Hedgehog 3—especially the latter with its $62 million US opening weekend—has sealed the box office fate ofKraven the Hunter.
AsKraven the Hunterheads into its second week, and third weekend, at the box office, two things are already clear: it would struggle to recoup even two-thirds of its budget by the end of its theatrical run, and it will be the highlight of Sony’s Spider-Man universe that initially found success withVenom.
Kraven the Hunterwas released on December 13 and is currently showing in cinemas worldwide.
