‘Kraven the Hunter’ rushes off meager opening day

After several delays in the Sony release calendar, the studio’s Marvel spinoff “Kraven the Hunter” is met with indifference in its arrival in theaters. The anti-hero earned a weak $4.7 million during Friday and previews from 3,211 locations.

It is behind the $6 million opening day gross of the studio’s “Madame Web,” which opened on Valentine’s Day Wednesday back in early 2024 and finished with a paltry $43 million in North America. It looks like Sony is booking the calendar with another cartoon dud, as the R-rated “Kraven the Hunter” will need to step up if it wants to make its already low projections for an opening north of $13 million. While it lives up to those expectations, it’s a lousy start for the $110 million production.

Directed by JC Chandor and starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the murderous villain of Spider-Man lore, “Kraven the Hunter” has been battling skepticism for some time now. The film was shot nearly three years ago and has faced several attacks over its release calendar since pushing back an original date of January 2023. And while Sony has found great commercial success with its “Venom” trilogy, the studio’s second pair of live- action “Spider-Man” spinoffs, “Madame Web” and the living vampire thriller “Morbius,” both proved being franchise non-starters, not to mention superlative turkeys among critics.

“Kraven” does not break the pattern of terrible reviews and rough audience atmosphere. Moviegoer Cinema Score earned a C grade, which is even lower than the C+ earned by “Madame Web” and “Morbius.” Even poorly regarded films can post above-average multipliers during the holiday season, but poor buzz and a terrible kick-off will be a streak to overcome. Quoth “The collar,” never again.

This weekend also sees another IP maelstrom fail to resonate with audiences as Warner Bros.’ “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” opens in fifth place. The Tolkien prequel, directed by anime veteran Kenji Kamiyama, took in an estimated $2 million over Friday and previews from 2,602 locations. Reviews have been mixed, while the film received a B grade on Cinema Score.

Compared to “Kraven,” expectations are far more modest for “Rohirrim,” which was produced on a fairly slim budget of $30 million. In some ways, the film is already a success, as it was greenlit and fast-tracked as a means of ensuring New Line Cinema didn’t lose the rights to Tolkien’s novels. The banner is currently developing “The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum,” which will be directed by and star Andy Serkis.

Still, recent years have shown that anime can draw a crowd in North America. Titles like “Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero” and “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train” opened atop the domestic charts with debuts north of $20 million. While they represent the cream of the crop for dedicated anime fanbases, “The Lord of the Rings” should also have its own built-in appeal, especially given how coveted the Tolkien rights remain. “Rohirrim” is out, the IP is still on the books: mission accomplished. But the franchise should probably be over such a soft opening.

“Moana 2” looks set to easily top the charts again, sitting at no. 1 for the third weekend in a row. The Disney release added about $6 million on Friday, down 48% from its daily haul of $11 million a week prior. It’s been smooth sailing for the musical sequel since it set Thanksgiving holiday box office records upon opening. In just 15 days of release, the domestic gross now exceeds $320 million, making it one of the top five North American releases of the year.

Still ahead of its total is “Wicked,” which repeats in second place after adding $5.8 million on Friday. Universal’s two-part adaptation of the beloved Broadway musical will surpass $350 million domestically this weekend. It should soon pass “Despicable Me 4,” which currently ranks as the third-biggest North American release of the year at $361 million.

Rounding out the top five is “Gladiator II,” which chopped off another $2.1 million on Friday. The film is looking at a modest 40% drop in its fourth weekend, even against a new R-rated actioner on the block in “Kraven.” Paramount’s swords-and-sandals sequel looks set to post $145 million domestically through Sunday, which would put it above “The Wild Robot” ($142 million), “Venom: The Last Dance” ($139 million) and “A Quiet Place: Day One” ” ($138 million) among this year’s crop of releases.