411 Box Office Report: Kraven The Hunter Crashes As Moana 2, Wicked Reign Again

It was a bad weekend to be a super-antihero, as Kraven The Hunter bombed at the box office while Moana 2 and Wicked held the top spots. The Moana sequel spent a third weekend at #1 as it brought in $26.6 million, down a very solid 48% from last weekend’s numbers. The film now has $337.5 million domestically and $717 million worldwide, dwarfing the $248.8 million domestic and $684.7 million totals for the first film.

Like the original Moana, the sequel reportedly cost $150 million and is continuing to push its way toward $400 million domestically – something it can absolutely do considering the coming holiday period that is a boon to movies. Long story short: this is a big hit for Disney, who can feel good about the prospects for their upcoming live-action adaptation of the first movie.

Wicked had a great hold as it was down just 38% in its fourth weekend, raking in another $22.5 million. The first part of Universal’s adaptation of the Broadway musical now has $359 million domestically and $525 million worldwide, huge against a $145 million budget with plenty of gas left in the tank. As noted last week, the movie is now the top-grossing adaptation of a stage musical of all-time and is on course to top $400 million stateside itself. Wicked: Part Two arrives next November and that should by all rights be another big hit for the studio.

Then we come to the latest faltering in the Sony Spider-Man Universe. Kraven The Hunter was DOA, with the R-rated superhero film grossing just $11 million. That’s below even the $15.3 million that Madame Web opened to earlier this year and one of the lowest starts ever for a Marvel comics adaptation – only ahead of The New Mutants ($7 million, released at the end of the pandemic lockdowns), Howard the Duck ($5.1 million all the way back in 1986), and Punisher: War Zone (4.3 million in 2008).

There’s no good news here. Kraven was already expected to fall drastically coming into the weekend, but those expectations were in the $15 million to $20 million range and this film did even less than that. You can cite a number of issues here – Kraven not being a household name, the R rating, the negative buzz around the SSU – but the simple fact is that no one wanted to see it. Buzz for the film was incredibly low as it was bumped around the schedule and when the reviews came in, they were brutal with a 15% Rotten Tomatoes aggregated critic score.

To make matters worse, the word of mouth is awful. The RT audience rating is a low 73% (compare to Venom: The Last Dance’s 81%) and the CinemaScore is a lousy C. Even Madame Web scored a C+. That bad word of mouth resulted in hefty falls from Friday through to Sunday.

Kraven also isn’t getting much help overseas to bail it out, where it has $15 million from 60 markets. When you consider that Kraven had a $110 million budget, this is shaping up to be one of the SSU’s biggest bombs. (For perspective, Madame Web died with $43.8 million domestically and $100.3 million worldwide but only cost $80 million). Sony can hope that the holiday season gives this a boost, but I wouldn’t hold my breath. A $30 million domestic final is achievable, which is not going to make much of a dent in the red ink.

Gladiator II had a good hold even against the new R-rated male competition, down 38% in its fourth weekend with $7.8 million. Ridley Scott’s epic action sequel is now up to $145.9 million domestically and $398.5 million worldwide. It is still struggling toward profit against a $250 million budget but has a legit shot at breaking even as overseas numbers stay strong. Domestically it is still looking at around $165 million as its endgame.

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim was also a disappointment, albeit on a smaller scale than Kraven the Hunter. The animated fantasy film grossed $4.6 million, less than half of the $10 million that some were expecting it to do. It’s not a great start for the anime-style film, which was unable to capitalize on the LOTR name value.

There are a couple of reasons this one fell short. For starters, American audiences are still reticent to the notion of animation aimed at adult audiences. And while anime has had a chance to break out at the theater, it’s still a niche genre that attracts anime fans for properties that they specifically love like Full Metal Alchemist or Demon Slayer.

It also doesn’t help that the film didn’t receive a lot of critical buzz. The movie stands at a 51% RT critic aggregate, though audience reaction is better at a B CinemaScore and 83% RT audience rating. The good news here is that the budget was not astronomical, at a reported $30 million. With a $5.7 million overseas start, it stands at $10.3 million worldwide and will probably get up to $16 million to $18 million in the US. It won’t be profitable but the lower budget means losses will be minimal.

Red One fell just 37% in its fifth weekend, drawing another $4.4 million despite hitting Prime Video on Thursday. The holiday action buddy cop movie is at $92.6 million stateside and $175.2 million worldwide, still pushing its way toward a breakeven when you add in Prime Video revenue. It is still on course for a $100 million-plus US final total.

Interstellar did well in its second weekend of re-release, with the Christopher Nolan film down a mere 28% to $3.3 million. That brings the movie to $199.8 million and $726.3 million worldwide through all releases.

Pushpa: The Rule Part 2 took an expected fall, down 67% to $1.6 million. The Telugu-language action film is already a big hit with $13 million domestically and $154.6 million. It’s another example of Indian films doing well in the US and its distribution companies are very happy with how it’s played out.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever had the best hold in the top 10 as it rose a spot to #9 thanks to a mere 10% drop. The holiday comedy brought in $1.4 million to bring its totals to $36.7 million in the US and $36.8 million worldwide against a $10 million budget, a hit. It is looking likely to finish a bit above $40 million.

Coming in at #10 was the expansion of Luca Guadagnino ‘s Queer. The 1950s queer drama, based on a true story, brought in $791,000 on just 460 screens. The film, which critics are fairly positive on at a 76% RT aggregate, got a boost with Best Actor nominations for Daniel Craig at the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards. A24 is platforming this up and hoping the awards buzz will help it out; right now, it has $1.9 million domestically with international grosses not yet reported. No word on its budget at this time.

Next weekend will see a new #1 as Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Mufasa enter the family audience fray. Sonic should take the top spot with upward of $75 million to $80 million against Mufasa’s $60 million or so.

BOX OFFICE TOP TEN (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)
1. Moana – $26.6 million ($337.5 million total, $717 million WW)
2. Wicked – $22.5 million ($359 million total, $525 million WW)
3. Kraven The Hunter – $11 million ($11 million total, $26 million WW)
4. Gladiator II – $7.8 million ($145.9 million total, $398.5 million WW)
5. The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim – $4.6 million ($4.6 million total, $10.3 million WW)
6. Red One – $4.4 million ($92.6 million total, $175.2 million WW)
7. Interstellar – $3.3 million ($199.8 million total, $640.7 million WW)
8. Pushpa: The Rule Part 2 – $1.6 million ($13 million total, $154.6 million WW)
9. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever – $1.4 million ($36.7 million total, $36.8 million WW)
10. Queer – $791,000 ($1.9 million total, $1.9 million WW)