Sony’s latest release, Kraven the Hunter, failed to impress at the domestic box office in its debut weekend, only bringing in $11 million and landing in third place behind Moana 2 and Wicked. This R-rated comic book movie marked the worst start for a Sony-produced Marvel comic book movie, and one of the worst for any Marvel character adaptation.
Critics gave Kraven the Hunter a harsh review, while audiences gave it a C CinemaScore. The film also underperformed overseas, only making $15 million in 60 markets for a global debut of $26 million.
Starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the titular antihero, Kraven faced production delays and ended up costing $110 million to make. Despite Sony’s efforts to market it as an R-rated action flick similar to John Wick, rather than a traditional comic book movie, it failed to attract a significant audience.
In contrast, Disney’s Moana 2 and Wicked continued to dominate the box office, with Moana 2 surpassing $700 million globally and Wicked crossing the $500 million mark worldwide.
On the other hand, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, another major studio release, is projected to land in fifth or sixth place with around $5 million in revenue. The animated feature, set in the Lord of the Rings universe, received a B CinemaScore and earned $10.3 million globally.
Overall, the weekend box office revenue saw a 16 percent increase compared to the same period last year, thanks to the success of Thanksgiving tentpole releases. Despite Kraven the Hunter’s disappointing performance, other films like Gladiator II and Interstellar saw decent numbers at the box office.
As for the awards box office, films like Queer, Nickel Boys, and September 5 made their mark with promising per-location averages. The industry continues to see fluctuations in box office numbers, with some films exceeding expectations while others fall short of projections.
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