not even Aaron Taylor-Johnson could save the SSU.
Over the years, Sony’s extended universe of Spider-Man villain movies has been underperforming. The studio has made valiant attempts to capture the glory of the MCU before it, but it looks like Sony might be ready to throw in the towel, because even the CEO’s flabbergasted.
Kraven the Hunter’s box office flop
Starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Kraven, the movie set out to explore the his complex relationship with his father. However, despite the considerable star power Taylor-Johnson brought to the role, it was met with negative reviews and little audience interest.
Sony Pictures Entertainment CEO, Tony Vinciquerra spoke to the Los Angeles Times about his tenure as CEO, and his thoughts on the failed Sony Spider-Man universe, or SSU. Vinciquerra will be stepping down after seven years of service, and Sony COO Ravi Ahuja will take on the role. When asked about his thoughts on the performance of Sony’s recent movies, including Kraven and Madame Web, which were released earlier this year, Vinciquerra was pretty much lost for words. He said he doesn’t understand why Kraven didn’t do well, because “the film is not a bad film.”
For Madame Web, he turned the blame to the press, saying, “Madame Web underperformed in the theaters because the press crucified it. It was not a bad film, and it did great on Netflix.” However, his thoughts on the movie are a huge contradiction to what audiences were saying about it. Madame Web, and Dakota Johnson’s portrayal of the titular character, were widely regarded as simply bad.
Kraven on the other hand, had the dishonor of setting the record for the worst opening weekend of any movie in the SSU, earning only $26 million on a budget of $110-150 million.
The SSU is on its last legs
Following Tobey Maguire’s iconic run as Spider-Man, and Andrew Garfield’s popular but critically panned time in the suit, Sony and Marvel Studios came to a deal for Spidey in the MCU. Tom Holland’s wild success in the role led Sony to try to ride on the MCU’s coattails and release a litany of movies centered around Spidey-related villains.
The SSU began with Venom and its sequel Let There Be Carnage and includes six movies in total. The Venom movies are often regarded as the only decent movies in the Sony Spider-Man Universe, while Morbius marked the beginning of their laughing stock era. Venom’s trilogy ended with Venom: The Last Dance, and while all three of his movies performed moderately well, the same can’t be said for the rest of the SSU.
As of now, Kraven the Hunter is the final film in the SSU, and while many are happy to see it go, there will always be a lingering “what if” around these characters and what could have happened if they’d had better adaptations.
Published: Dec 31, 2024 09:05 am