Will There Be a Kraven 2 Despite Sony Pausing Their Spider-Man Movieverse?

As a seasoned moviegoer who has seen his fair share of superhero flicks, I can confidently say that Kraven the Hunter is not worth the price of admission – or even a rental on streaming platforms. After witnessing the dismal box office performance and hearing whispers about potential sequels, I’m reminded of the old adage: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

It has been evident for some time now that due to budget overruns and repeated setbacks, Kraven the Hunter was likely to struggle to turn a profit at the box office. However, when the final forecasts came in during the week of its release, it became clear as crystal: Kraven would not be the lifesaver Sony’s Spider-Man Universe was hoping for. In fact, the movie’s final estimates suggested it would open with a lower box office take than Madame Web, which set a record among superhero films for one of the lowest three-day grosses ever, earning just $15.3 million.

With Kraven, Sony’s Spider-Man Universe experienced a significant setback. The movie debuted to a disappointing $11 million. It appears that the studio behind Kraven has realized that the poor performance of SSU films isn’t solely due to superhero saturation; audiences have recognized that these Spidey spinoffs were, at best, unimpressive. When it comes to parting with ten dollars for a ticket, being unimpressive isn’t acceptable. However, even given the poor box office results, one might wonder: could there still be a Kraven 2?

What Has It Taken for a SSU Film to Get a Sequel?

It’s no secret that the SSU often follows up on successful films, and Venom was no exception – it had not one, but two sequels due to the massive success of its initial release. Even during the COVID-19 era, Venom: Let There Be Carnage managed to turn a profit. However, as time went on, even this IP started to lose momentum before its final installment, Venom: The Last Dance. Despite opening with $51 million, which was less than both the original Venom’s and Let There Be Carnage’s openings, it did have a longer run in theaters, with a domestic total that was roughly 2.73 times its opening weekend – outlasting the first film by about 0.07 times and the second by about 15%.

Although the Venom series managed to thrive financially, this achievement offers minimal comfort given that The Last Dance had a budget of $120 million and grossed only $140 domestically. In contrast, the first two Venom movies cost around $110 million each, and Kraven’s budget is expected to be at least $110 million on the low end, potentially reaching $130 million. This means that Kraven’s opening earnings of $11 million make The Last Dance seem like a box office success story on par with Avatar or Titanic. In other words, based on current financial performance, it is highly unlikely that a second Kraven film will be produced due to the significant budget and lackluster returns, making it appear to be a one-time release for Sony Pictures.

What Will Kraven the Hunter’s Final Box Office Tally Look Like?

After examining how Kraven stacks up against the SSU’s triumphant tale, let’s discuss its less successful ventures. Since its debut, Morbius has shown a slight improvement in perception over time. With an initial budget of approximately $83 million, it opened to $39 million, which might seem disappointing at first glance, but considering Madame Web – the SSU film that Kraven is often compared to – had around $100 million invested and only managed to gross $43.8 million, Morbius’ performance looks a bit more promising.

To predict how well Kraven might perform in the future, we should consider the initial audience response. Madame Web earned $2.2 million on its Thursday previews, an amount that Kraven didn’t surpass ($2 million). This nine percent difference between Kraven and Madame Web increased to 28% over the three-day period. If it manages to earn 28% less than Madame Web’s final domestic total, Kraven will only make around $31.5 million at the box office.

The attendance figures at the box office, rather than ensuring more movies, actually mark the end of a film series and significantly decrease the chances of its characters being revived for quite some time – if ever again, not even in a Marvel Cinematic Universe storyline unrelated to Sony.

Kraven the Hunter is in theaters now.

2024-12-21 18:10

What Has It Taken for a SSU Film to Get a Sequel?

What Will Kraven the Hunter’s Final Box Office Tally Look Like?

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