As expected after a dismal debut, Sony Pictures' Kraven the Hunter has completely dropped off the box office radar since it released in theaters about two weeks ago. We won't even kick the movie while it's down by revealing what it's made over the past few days, but its current global total sits at around the $44 million mark.
The Venom movies aside, Sony's SSU has been a bit of a disaster, and critics are to blame (apparently).
While speaking to the Los Angeles Times in a recent interview, Sony Pictures CEO Tony Vinciquerra admitted that Kraven is “probably the worst launch we had” in the nearly eight years he’s been at the studio. “I still don’t understand," he added. "Because the film is not a bad film.”
“Let’s just touch on Madame Web for a moment,” Vinciquerra continued. “Madame Web underperformed in the theaters because the press just crucified it. It was not a bad film, and it did great on Netflix. For some reason, the press decided that they didn’t want us making these films out of Kraven and Madame Web, and the critics just destroyed them. They also did it with Venom, but the audience loved Venom and made Venom a massive hit. These are not terrible films. They were just destroyed by the critics in the press, for some reason.”
One movie that did manage to rebound after a disappointing bow is Disney's Mufasa: The Lion King, which is now expected to win the long five-day holiday weekend (Wednesday through Sunday) with an estimated $61 million domestic.
It's going to be a close race, though, because Paramount's Sonic the Hedgehog 3 looks set to make between $59M and $60M, and could ultimately end up having stronger legs (the threequel has just beaten Mufasa to the punch by crossing the $100M global milestone).
While Robert Eggers' Nosferatu is unlikely to trouble the top 2 long-term, the R-rated horror remake of F.W. Murnau’s vampire classic is projected to reach $39 million (its budget is a reported $50 million) through the five-day frame, which is way ahead of initial expectations.
Do you plan on making a trip to the theater over the weekend? If so, let us know what you'll be seeing in the comments section down below.