Moana 2 Tops The Weekend Box Office Again As Kraven The Hunter Debuts As Another Big Flop For Sony’s Spider-Man Universe

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As a movie enthusiast who has spent countless hours in theaters, I must admit that this week’s box office results have left me quite puzzled. The lackluster performance of Kraven The Hunter and The Lord of The Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is truly baffling, especially considering the rich history and potential these franchises hold.

2024 may not be particularly notable for comic book movies, with the exception of Shawn Levy’s Deadpool & Wolverine. Unfortunately, several anticipated films underperformed. Todd Phillips’ Joker: Folie à Deux was met with disappointment both by critics and audiences, and Sony’s Spider-Man Universe did not capitalize on a year with fewer Marvel Cinematic Universe titles. S.J. Clarkson’s Madame Web became a joke in February, Kelly Marcel’s Venom: The Last Dance has fallen short domestically, and J.C. Chandor’s Kraven The Hunter is looking like it could be the franchise’s biggest flop to date.

This weekend saw the debut of two major wide releases – Kraven The Hunter and Kenji Kamiyama’s The Lord Of The Rings: The War Of The Rohirrim. However, neither managed to entice cinema-goers, with Moana 2, produced by Dana Ledoux Miller, Jason Hand, and David Derrick Jr., claiming the box office crown for a third consecutive week. For a detailed look at the Top 10 performances, see the chart below, and stay tuned for my analysis.

Moana 2 Passes $700 Million Worldwide, Further Establishing It As One Of 2024’s Biggest Hits

2024 might not be a great year for comic book movies, but the impressive box office performances of this year’s animated blockbusters are helping to compensate. Without a doubt, Kelsey Mann’s Inside Out 2 is set to claim the title of biggest hit of the year, with an astonishing $1.7 billion earned during its theater run. Notably, it’s also joined in the global Top 10 by Mike Mitchell’s Kung Fu Panda 4 ($547.7 million) and Chris Renaud’s Despicable Me 4 ($969.4 million).

In a mere three weeks, “Moana 2” has solidified its significance in that discussion, as it has now amassed more than $700 million globally. Moreover, it has recently gained an additional $26.6 million within the U.S., according to The Numbers.

In terms of domestic and Canadian box office earnings, Disney Animation Studios’ latest film has climbed to become the fifth highest-grossing movie of the year. With a total of $316.9 million in ticket sales, it has outperformed Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice Beetlejuice ($294.1 million). Despite Jon Chu’s Wicked having an early start at the box office, released seven days before Moana 2, the financial gap between the two films is narrowing significantly.

The second installment of “Moana” didn’t come with a small price tag, as it was produced for an estimated $150 million. However, its success at the box office is a significant achievement for Walt Disney Animation Studios, marking their first substantial hit since “Frozen II” in 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic postponed the release of “Raya and the Last Dragon,” directed by Don Hall and Carlos López Estrada, in early 2020. None of the subsequent releases, such as “Encanto” by Byron Howard and Jared Bush, “Strange World” by Don Hall, and “Wish” by Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn, managed to gross over $250 million worldwide.

2024 is expected to witness some stiff competition for ‘Moana 2′ at the box office, with films like Barry Jenkins’ ‘Mufasa: The Lion King’ and Jeff Fowler’s ‘Sonic The Hedgehog 3’. It will be thrilling to observe where this new animated movie ranks among the top-grossing films of 2024.

Kraven The Hunter Fails To Even Put Up Madame Web Numbers In Its Opening Weekend

When Daniel Espinosa’s Morbius premiered, there was enough interest in the Spider-Man-related movie for it to gross $39 million during its opening domestic weekend. However, more than two years later, that curiosity has vanished entirely, and Kraven The Hunter has suffered the most due to this trend. This recently released film was panned by critics last week (I gave it a 2-star review on TopMob), which has led to an almost complete lack of buzz, resulting in it making even less than Madame Web did when it debuted in February.

Competing alongside Reinaldo Marcus Green’s biopic “Bob Marley: One Love” during their initial release, “Madame Web” earned a modest $15.3 million in its opening weekend. On the other hand, “Kraven The Hunter” faced minimal competition from the relatively quiet “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim,” and it managed to secure only $11 million during its debut. Interestingly, this Aaron Taylor-Johnson-led film opened in third place, trailing not just the animated fantasy movie but also two films that had been in theaters for almost a month.

The film launch for Sony’s Spider-Man Universe has been noticeably sluggish, with only modest revenue generated internationally. So far, it has brought in an additional $15 million from foreign markets, leading to a total global earnings of approximately $26 million over the past three days. This movie, which reportedly had a budget of around $110 million (inflated due to issues stemming from last year’s labor disputes in the entertainment industry), has yet to show strong performance figures.

Indications strongly suggest that the flop of Kraven The Hunter could mark the end of standalone Spider-Man films without Spider-Man himself, and it appears few would argue against this outcome.

The Lord Of The Rings: The War Of The Rohirrim Settles For Fifth Place

Despite the disappointing performance of Kraven The Hunter at the box office, the results for The Lord Of The Rings: The War Of The Rohirrim are even more dismal, given its $30 million budget. There was anticipation that this film would capitalize on the recent popularity of anime in cinemas and reignite interest in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth, similar to Peter Jackson’s blockbuster series. However, it appears that expectation has not been met.

In contrast to the outstanding performance of animated films this year, including Josh Cooley’s “Transformers One” and Chris Sanders’ “The Wild Robot,” it appears that “The Lord Of The Rings: The War Of The Rohirrim” will be noticeably absent from discussions about 2024’s cinematic landscape. Despite being screened in over 2,600 theaters across the US and Canada, the film managed to earn just $4.6 million during its first three days in theaters. This places it as the 74th highest opening weekend of 2024, trailing behind Rupert Sanders’ “The Crow.

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2024-12-15 23:37