Ahead of ‘Kraven the Hunter’s release in theaters this weekend, Sony has decided to halt its Marvel movie spin-offs, citing poor reviews, negative fan feedback, and declining box office numbers. According to The Wrap, the decision was made to end spin-offs that had close ties to ‘Spider-Man’ but revolved around the web-slinging character.
A top talent agent told the publication, “They’ve developed what they want to develop for now. It’s really about the next ‘Spider-Man’ film.”
An official from Sony stated that the studio now plans to focus on ‘Spider-Man 4’ and ‘Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse,’ both co-productions with Marvel Studios. On the TV side, ‘Spider-Noir’ is also a top priority, with Sony aiming to finally shed light on the pivotal character, namely ‘Spider-Man.’
Venom grossed close to $900 million at the box office in 2018, but reviews were largely negative. ‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’ and ‘Venom: The Last Dance’ grossed significantly less.
“The biggest issue with the Sony ‘Spider-Man’ spinoffs seems to be the lack of quality control. The movies just aren’t good,” a second Sony insider says. “Sometimes that lack of quality meets a movie no one asked for, which was the case with ‘Madame Web,’ and that is a no-win scenario. It may be time for Sony to start cultivating different IP to launch new franchises.”
Recent films in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, such as ‘Morbius’ and ‘Madam Web’ have been both commercial and critical flops.
According to the Daily Mail, Sony Pictures is blaming Dakota Johnson for the poor performance of ‘Madame Web’ both with critics and at the box office.
Sources close to the studio have expressed concern about Johnson’s public criticism of the film, which they believe contributed to its negative reception.
The film, which aims to expand Sony’s Marvel Universe of Characters, was met with harsh reviews upon its release, earning a disappointing 11% critic score and 55% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Following the failures of Sony’s other Spider-Man projects, fan interest in the upcoming ‘Kraven the Hunter’ movie has been notably low. This trend has failed to generate much excitement for ‘Kraven the Hunter.’
The movie is expected to underperform because of all this.
