Sony Pictures CEO Tony Vinciquerra recently commented in an interview with the Los Angeles Times that Kraven the Hunter is perhaps "the worst launch we had" during his eight year tenure at Sony stating it was disappointing that it opened December 13 to a very low 11 million dollars. Tony Vinciquerra departs as CEO on January 2nd and voiced specific concerns regarding box office losses. Kraven the Hunter had a meager 18 million in domestic revenue plus 43 million globally.
Vinciquerra Defends 'Kraven' and 'Madame Web' While Criticizing Media Impact
Vinciquerra noted Madame Web also underperformed greatly due to extremely poor reviews while Kraven had similar problems saying "the press just crucified it" but argues that those were "not bad films" adding they both did well on Netflix afterwards as proof. Vinciquerra said critics and the press targeted their films. He expressed the studio now needs to "rethink" how it handles Spider-Man properties due to media and critic backlash despite success like the Venom movies with strong fan response. Variety recently published similar analysis of the failures of Morbius and other titles adding pressure on Sony.
'Kraven' Drops Out of Top 10 After Three Weeks Grossing Just 52.5 Million Worldwide Against a 110 Million Production Budget
Kraven the Hunter featuring Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Russel Crowe Dropped outside of the top 10 grossing movies in the North American box office within three weekends of release demonstrating its clear failure. This Sony Pictures movie about a side Spider-Man character follows recent failures like Morbius Madame Web along with the Venom films however none reached similar catastrophic low performance. Kraven grossed an estimated 1.7 million over the weekend bringing totals to 21.1 million domestically plus 31.2 million dollars internationally with total earnings at 52.5 million dollars while having a total production budget of 110 million before prints and advertising. Kraven The Hunter earned 11 million during first weekend for third rank in domestic totals.
The movie slipped down to the No. 7 spot on December 20-22 weekend amassing only 3 million in ticket revenue. Tom Hardy's Venom series was highly successful even Venom: The Last Dance in 2024 however Sony experienced huge financial problems due to Madame Web and now Kraven. Tony Vinciquerra in an interview with Los Angeles Times detailed poor box office figures and public response following theatrical release.
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Scores Undermine CEO Claims and Highlights Ongoing Negative Trends
Tony Vinciquerra laments in an interview with LA times saying the launch of "Kraven the Hunter" was the "worst launch" he faced stating he still doesn’t fully understand it. Rotten Tomatoes assigned Kraven The Hunter a very low 16% “rotten” rating as a result of collected reviews from 140 professional film critics and further Madame Web held a measly 11% “rotten” rating after 266 critic reviews. Vinciquerra also claimed press was negative for Kraven the Hunter much like Madame Web although the public response was more favorable on Netflix after its theatrical run. Tony Vinciquerra blamed critic perception despite evidence shown from ratings sites like Rotten Tomatoes.
Vinciquerra Steps Down From Leadership January 2 With Some Final Thoughts on Sony's Movie Division
Tony Vinciquerra’s last day as Sony CEO comes on January 2nd and spoke to LA times where he described various difficulties including challenges of COVID 19 alongside the recent Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA strikes with many projects he had helped get off the ground facing financial challenges due to these factors. The executive placed blame with the media and the press for a direct and concerted effort to drive people away from theaters based on reviews given to projects like "Madame Web". Vinciquerra stated "Madame Web underperformed" but he feels the film is "not a bad film" but that public perception was unfairly targeted.
Positive Sony Movie Titles Of the Year Provide Relief For Studio Amid Major Failures from Spider Man Universe
Tony Vinciquerra admitted his disappointment as "Kraven the Hunter” marked the final launch of his run at Sony. Several Sony movie titles actually performed very well and even made back their budget like Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire and Bad Boys: Ride or Die which made four times its total costs. The film It Ends with Us, an adaptation of Colleen Hoover book generated considerable revenue with over 350 million in sales despite initial legal controversies creating a net profit for the studio showing many sides of movie successes and failures across 2024 releases. Sony executives mentioned the failures of “Kraven” “Madame Web” and “Morbius” even as “Morbius” was still claimed to have had a marginal overall profit showing issues from within movie production with its leadership.
Sony Considers Revamp of Spider-Man IP Strategy after Series of Box Office Failures in Recent Times
Vinciquerra offered insights for new CEO Ravi Ahuja saying strategy changes will likely be needed for Spider-Man IPs due to consistent commercial flops which have created a public stigma around them and the financial losses of many projects that followed a negative pattern. Vinciquerra told Los Angeles Times it might be "snake-bitten" meaning it has lost its initial potential. He admitted Sony may need to avoid using this series going into future movie productions as it can easily get destroyed no matter what. A fourth Spider-Man film is being produced by Sony with Marvel Studios starring Tom Holland despite this controversy.