Kraven the Hunter suffers setback; Opening collection turns out to be worst opening for Sony-Marvel film

Spider-Man spin-off 'Kraven the Hunter' had a poor opening in North American theaters this weekend. According to studio estimates, the Aaron Taylor-Johnson starrer grossed a mere $11 million on Sunday, making it one of the worst openings for Marvel. Its box office collection was also lower than the film 'Madame Web'.

The R-rated 'Kraven the Hunter', directed by JC Chandor, had to deal with a number of delays. Partially, the delay was also because of strikes in Hollywood. The film was shot almost three years ago and was originally set to hit theaters in January 2023. Reports say the production budget of the movie is around $110 million, co-produced by TSG. The movie earned $15 million internationally, but it's unlikely to last long. It currently holds a 15 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes and received a C grade from opening weekend audiences via CinemaScore.

Kraven the Hunter, starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, is the latest disappointment in Sony's poor pipeline of Spider-Man universe spin-offs following that sequel series' recent solid performance Venom: The Last Dance, and bowed in third place in an estimated $11 million from 3,000 locations. This means that J.C. Chandor's R-rated action adventure has the worst opening weekend ever by any Sony-Marvel release and beat the recent 'Madame Web', which opened to $15.3 million in February before finishing off with just $43.8M total.

The antihero origin story, starring Russell Crowe as Kraven's gangster father, received a C CinemaScore from audiences. Sony Pictures executives bucked the urge Sunday morning, saying they expect the film to also play over the lucrative holiday period. The reality is that with the Venom franchise ending, motion picture group chief Tom Rothman will be eager to return to the main Spider-Man property and the release of the fourth Tom Holland tentpole in July 2026.