December 15th 2024.
Over the past weekend, the highly-anticipated Spider-Man spinoff "Kraven the Hunter" made its debut in North American theaters. However, things did not go as planned for the film, as it only earned $11 million according to studio estimates on Sunday. This put it in the ranks of one of the worst openings for a Marvel-related property. Surprisingly, it even earned less than the film "Madame Web."
Another major release of the weekend was the animated "The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim" by Warner Bros. The film, made with a budget of $30 million, raked in $4.6 million. Set 183 years before the events of the popular "Lord of the Rings" franchise, the film was fast-tracked to ensure that New Line did not lose the rights to J.R.R. Tolkien's novels. Fans can expect more live-action films for the franchise from the talented team of Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens.
Meanwhile, at the top of the charts, "Moana 2" and "Wicked" continued to reign supreme. In its third weekend, "Moana 2" brought in an additional $26.6 million domestically and $57.2 million internationally, bringing its global total to an impressive $717 million. This puts it in fourth place for the highest-grossing film of the year, surpassing "Dune: Part Two." "Wicked," in its fourth weekend, earned $22.5 million, bringing its total domestic earnings to a staggering $359 million and over $500 million worldwide.
Another notable release, "Gladiator II," earned $7.8 million in its fourth week, bringing its total domestic earnings to $145.9 million. However, "Kraven the Hunter" was not as successful as its predecessors, "Venom" and the likes. It joins the list of Sony's unsuccessful attempts to create spinoff franchises from the Spider-Man universe without the titular character. Other films like "Madame Web" and "Morbius" also failed to impress both audiences and critics. The only exception to this trend has been the "Venom" trilogy, which has made over $1.8 billion worldwide.
Directed by J.C. Chandor, the R-rated "Kraven the Hunter" faced multiple delays, partly due to the Hollywood strikes. It was filmed almost three years ago and was originally scheduled to hit theaters in January 2023. The film, which was co-financed by TSG and reportedly cost $110 million to produce, earned $15 million internationally. However, its potential for longevity seems limited as it currently holds a low 15% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes and received a C grade on CinemaScore from opening weekend audiences.
According to Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore, it is not always a guarantee that a spinoff character will connect with audiences. General audiences seem to prefer knowing exactly what to expect from a film. On a brighter note, several awards contenders made their debut in limited release over the weekend, including Paramount's "September 5," which follows ABC's coverage of the Munich Olympics hostage crisis. Additionally, Amazon MGM and Orion's "Nickel Boys," based on Colson Whitehead's Pulitzer-winning novel about an abusive reform school in Florida, opened in two theaters in New York and averaged an impressive $30,422 per screen. It will be expanding to Los Angeles before going nationwide in the coming weeks.
The home stretch of the 2024 box office is expected to bring in some big hitters, such as "Mufasa" and "Sonic the Hedgehog 3," along with a lineup of arthouse and adult releases like "Babygirl," "Nosferatu," and "A Complete Unknown." The box office has seen a significant recovery since June when it was down by 28% from the previous year. The deficit now stands at 4.8%.
Final domestic figures will be released on Monday. Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:
1. "Moana 2," $26.6 million.
2. "Wicked," $22.5 million.
3. "Kraven the Hunter," $11 million.
4. "Gladiator II," $7.8 million.
5. "Red One," $4.6 million.
6. "Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim," $4.5 million.
7. "Interstellar," $3.3 million.
8. "Pushpa: The Rule - Part 2," $1.6 million.
9. "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever," $1.4 million.
10. "Queer," $790,954.
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