Despite high hopes, Kraven the Hunter, Sony’s latest superhero spinoff, has failed to make a significant impact at the box office. Starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the notorious Spider-Man villain, the film opened with a disappointing $11 million from 3,211 theaters, landing at No. 3 behind already-established hits. This marks a low point for Sony’s Universe of Marvel Characters, which has struggled to gain momentum with audiences. The film’s reception has been lackluster, scoring just 15% on Rotten Tomatoes and a “C” grade on CinemaScore, signaling that Kraven may not experience a significant box office rebound during the holiday season.
Kraven the Hunter follows Sony’s underwhelming track record with superhero offshoots. This year’s earlier release Madame Web earned just $15.3 million, while last year’s Morbius, starring Jared Leto, failed to find an audience despite its connections to Spider-Man lore. Critics and audiences have grown increasingly indifferent to these Spider-Man-adjacent films, and ticket sales for many recent comic book movies have been stagnating. “Kraven” cost a reported $110 million to produce, though budget cuts were made in response to the changing superhero market.
While Kraven floundered, Disney’s Moana 2 continues to dominate the box office, retaining the No. 1 spot for the third consecutive weekend with $26.6 million from 4,000 theaters. The animated adventure, initially slated for streaming, has become a box office juggernaut, grossing $337.5 million domestically and $717 million globally. With its strong performance, Moana 2 is now the year’s fifth-highest-grossing film in North America.
Universal’s Wicked adaptation also continued to perform well, earning $22.5 million in its fourth weekend. The star-studded musical, featuring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, has grossed $359 million domestically and more than $524 million globally, becoming the highest-grossing Broadway adaptation in domestic box office history.
Elsewhere, Warner Bros.’ anime fantasy film The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim stumbled at the box office, landing in fifth place with a modest $4.6 million from 2,602 theaters. Despite mixed reviews and a lackluster international debut, the film’s modest budget of $30 million means it won’t be a financial disaster for the studio.
As the year draws to a close, Moana 2 and Wicked are expected to continue ruling the multiplexes until the December holiday releases, including Mufasa: The Lion King Prequel, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, and Babygirl, set to open on Dec. 20. The final days of 2024 will bring anticipated films such as Nosferatu and A Complete Unknown, starring Timothée Chalamet.
