Sony CEO Blames Press for ‘Kraven’ and ‘Madame Web’ Flops: Critics Destroyed Them “For Some Reason”

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As a seasoned film critic who’s witnessed the rise and fall of countless cinematic universes, I find myself intrigued by Sony’s ongoing saga with their Spider-Man Universe (SSU). Having spent countless hours in the dark, engrossed in the stories unfolding on the silver screen, I can confidently say that the SSU, under Tony Vinciquerra’s leadership, has been a rollercoaster ride of epic proportions.

This year, Sony unveiled three films within its Spider-Man Universe, and for me, I followed the release of “Madame Web.” Unfortunately, it didn’t fare well at the box office, earning $43.8 million in North America and Canada, and an additional $56.7 million internationally, totaling $100.5 million globally. Critics were also unimpressed with this film. On a brighter note, “Venom: The Last Dance” had a sluggish beginning in North America, but it picked up thanks to robust international viewings.

The newly unveiled film, allegedly the final one for a while, is titled “Kraven the Hunter“. This production has generated $18.5 million in the U.S. and Canada, and an additional $25.4 million abroad, resulting in a global total of $43.9 million. However, it has received unfavorable reviews from both critics and viewers.

It seems evident that the future of Sony’s Spider-Man spinoffs may be up in the air, and CEO Tony Vinciquerra concurs with this assessment. Nevertheless, he presents an alternative viewpoint, suggesting that the media might be responsible for the movies’ underwhelming box office results.

Recently, Vinciquerra shared insights about his tenure as Sony CEO with the Los Angeles Times. He acknowledged that his term was generally fruitful, but the Spider-Man Universe (SSU) stood out as an exception. He characterized the franchise as “cursed,” implying that the movies would receive negative reviews from critics regardless of their quality.

The CEO was inquired, particularly, concerning the poor performance of Kraven the Hunter and Madame Web, who both failed to impress at the movie theaters.

In response, Vinciquerra stated that the poor performance of Madame Web was due to harsh criticism from the media. He contended that the film wasn’t actually bad and performed well on Netflix. Furthermore, he noted that similar critiques had been directed at movies like Venom, despite their popularity with viewers and success. Vinciquerra feels these films were unjustly criticized by critics.

Let’s discuss “Madame Web” for a bit. The movie didn’t perform well in cinemas due to harsh criticism from the media. However, it was actually quite good and performed well on Netflix. For some unknown reason, the media seemed to dislike the idea of making films based on “Kraven” and “Madame Web,” and the critics mercilessly panned them.

Additionally, they attempted the same approach with “Venom,” yet it was “Venom” that captivated the audience and became an enormous success. It’s worth noting that these movies weren’t abysmal; instead, they received negative reviews from critics in the media for reasons that remain unclear.

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In my opinion, it seems that the term “some reason” might not fully capture the complexity of the situation when discussing the underperformance of certain movies, as both supporters and skeptics frequently highlighted issues such as thin storylines and dull protagonists. Nevertheless, a key factor often cited for the downfall of these films was the lack of Spider-Man himself, despite the entire universe being centered around his sidekicks and adversaries.

It’s subjective, but it seems that Madame Web and Kraven the Hunter become more intriguing when they share the spotlight with Spider-Man. They have a greater potential to attract audiences through their association with the famous superhero. Without Spider-Man, these characters might not possess enough allure to hold viewers’ attention strongly. Of course, this is simply my perspective.

Even though Kraven the Hunter had the potential for success, especially if they had adapted “Kraven’s Last Hunt,” one of the most well-liked and intriguing stories about him, it was difficult to fully capture that storyline in a single film because Spider-Man, who plays a crucial role in this tale, was absent from the Spider-Man Universe.

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2024-12-26 20:14