Spider-Man spinoff “Kraven the Hunter” had a disappointing debut in North American theaters this weekend.
According to studio estimates on Sunday, the film starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson only made $11 million, making it one of the worst debuts for a Marvel-adjacent property. Its box office earnings were less than that of the film “Madame Web”.
The other major studio release of the weekend was Warner Bros.’ The animated “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” earned $4.6 million. Made for approximately $30 million, the film takes place 183 years before the events of “The Lord of the Rings” films and was rushed to ensure New Line did not lose the rights to Tolkien’s novels. Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens are working on future live-action films for the franchise.
Meanwhile, the charts were again topped by “Moana 2” and “Wicked”.
“Moana” added $26.6 million domestically and $57.2 million internationally in its third weekend, bringing its global cume to $717 million. It has now become the fourth highest grossing film of the year, surpassing “Dune: Part Two”.
“Wicked,” which is in its fourth weekend, took second place with an additional $22.5 million. The Universal musical has grossed over $359 million domestically and over $500 million worldwide.
“Gladiator II” also made $7.8 million, bringing its domestic total to $145.9 million in four weeks.
“Kraven the Hunter” is the latest misfire by Sony in its attempt to mine the Spider-Man universe for a spin-off franchise without the charming web slinger. “Kraven” joins “Madame Web” and “Morbius” in the franchise, which both audiences and critics did not like. One exception to this rollercoaster ride has been the “Venom” trilogy, which has grossed more than $1.8 billion worldwide.
The R-rated “Kraven the Hunter” was directed by J.C. Chandor and faced several delays, partly due to Hollywood attacks. It was shot almost three years ago and was originally slated to release in theaters in January 2023. The film reportedly cost $110 million to produce and was co-financed by TSG. Internationally, it made $15 million, but its prospects for longevity appear limited: it currently has a 15% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a C grade on CinemaScore from opening weekend audiences.
Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at comScore, said, “It’s not always a guarantee that you’ll connect with the audience when you have a spinoff character.” “It seems like the general audience really wants to know what they’re getting.”
Several awards contenders debuted in limited release over the weekend, including Paramount’s “September 5th,” about ABC’s coverage of the Munich Olympics hostage crisis. Amazon MGM and Orion’s “Nickel Boys,” based on Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer-winner about an abusive reform school in Florida, opens at two New York theaters. It averaged $30,422 per screen and will be expanded to Los Angeles before going nationwide in the coming weeks.
Some big hitters are in store for the 2024 box office domestically. There will be several arthouse and adult releases in the coming weeks such as “Mufasa” and “Sonic the Hedgehog 3,” as well as “Babygirl,” “Nosferatu” and “A Complete Unknown.”
The box office has seen a dramatic improvement since June, when it was down nearly 28% from last year. The deficit is now 4.8%.
Final domestic figures will be released Monday. Estimated ticket sales from Friday to Sunday at US and Canadian theaters, according to comScore:
1. “Moana 2,” $26.6 million.
2. “Wicked,” $22.5 million.
3. “Kraven the Hunter,” $11 million.
4. “Gladiator II,” $7.8 million.
5. “Red One,” $4.6 million.
6. “Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim,” $4.5 million.
7. “Interstellar” (re-release), $3.3 million.
8. “Pushpa: The Rule – Part 2,” $1.6 million.
9. “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” $1.4 million.
10. “Queer,” $790,954.