From Box Office Bomb to Netflix Hit: The Surprising Rise of ‘Kraven the Hunter’

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Sony’s Spider-Man Universe (SSU) went out with a whimper because its final film entry simply couldn’t hunt up enough business at the box office. However, there is a reason Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s take on the titular Spidey comic book character in Kraven the Hunter went belly up in theaters, and that’s because critics and theatergoers alike appropriately responded to the movie’s poor storytelling. Today, though, Kraven is at long last enjoying some success as the film has cracked Netflix’s Top 10 Movies in the United States chart at No. 1 as of Friday, Mar. 14.

Poor reviews from the critics led to the inferior Kraven the Hunter registering the second-worst Tomatometer rating (15%) of the SSU on Rotten Tomatoes, which is a dubious score it still shares with the Jared Leto-led Morbius. However, Kraven and Morbius’ 15% still isn’t as bad as Madame Web’s lowly 11%. Despite the low numbers, though, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that the Spider-Man villain’s adaptation is dominating Netflix’s movies chart now.

Moviegoers might not have wanted to shell out the money to see Kraven the Hunter in cinemas, but its grades from the fans were considerably higher than its Tomatometer rating. For instance, the last entry in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe registered a solid 73% on the Popcornmeter, formerly the RT audience score, and it even notched a “C” CinemaScore. So, it’s understandable why streamers, particularly if they already subscribe to the service, are giving the SSU’s swan song a chance.

‘Kraven the Hunter’ Bombed at the Box Office

The final entry in the SSU couldn’t even secure the top spot in theaters over its opening weekend when it started its box office run on Dec. 13, 2024. Rather, Kraven the Hunter was relegated to a third-place debut ($11 million) after going up against the likes of Wicked and Moana 2 — and the Spidey spinoff only went downhill afterward. The Aaron Taylor-Johnson-led flick’s profits dropped a jaw-dropping 72.3% between its first and second weekends en route to an overall domestic disaster of only $25 million total.

Fortunately, the film fared far better overseas with audiences. Kraven the Hunter ended up making an additional $35 million internationally, which brought its global total to $62 million. Unfortunately, director J. C. Chandor and Taylor-Johnson’s big-screen collaboration will go down as the box office record-setter for worst opening weekend, domestic, and worldwide numbers where the SSU is concerned. Yes, even worse than Dakota Johnson and Sydney Sweeney’s disappointing team-up in Madame Web. Here is how the SSU shook out financially in theaters entry by entry:

Sony’s Spider-Man Universe Worldwide Box Office Numbers (Live-Action):

  1. Venom ($856.1 million)
  2. Venom: Let There Be Carnage ($501.5 million)
  3. Venom: The Last Dance ($474.5 million)
  4. Morbius ($162.8 million)
  5. Madame Web ($100.3 million)
  6. Kraven the Hunter ($60 million)

Regardless of its newfound streaming success, Kraven the Hunter will never be confused as being one of the best live-action Spider-Man films of all time, to say nothing of it trying to stand up against the far superior animated movies Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. For those interested in seeing what all the fuss is about, the final entry in the SSU is currently available to watch on Netflix. However, the film isn’t available through any of the streaming service’s ad-supported plans “due to licensing restrictions.”

Sources: FlixPatrol, The Numbers, Rotten Tomatoes

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2025-03-15 15:03