| Kraven the Hunter | |
|---|---|
_poster.jpg) Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | J. C. Chandor |
| Screenplay by | |
| Story by | Richard Wenk |
| Based on | Marvel Comics |
| Produced by |
|
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Ben Davis |
| Edited by | |
| Music by | |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Sony Pictures Releasing |
Release date |
|
Running time | 127 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $110[2]–130 million[3] |
| Box office | $62 million[4][5] |
Kraven the Hunter is a 2024 Americansuperhero film featuringthe character fromMarvel Comics. It is the sixth film inSony's Spider-Man Universe (SSU).Aaron Taylor-Johnson stars as Kraven, alongsideAriana DeBose,Fred Hechinger,Alessandro Nivola,Christopher Abbott, andRussell Crowe. Directed byJ. C. Chandor and written byRichard Wenk,Art Marcum and Matt Holloway, the film explores Kraven's relationship with his father and his path to becoming the greatest hunter.
Kraven was considered for film appearances several times beforeSony Pictures became interested in a standalone film for the character, as part of its new shared universe, in mid-2017. Wenk was hired in August 2018, and Chandor entered negotiations to direct in August 2020, and was confirmed in May 2021 when Taylor-Johnson was cast. Filming took place from late March until mid-June in London, Iceland, and Glasgow.
Following two years of delays,Kraven the Hunter was released in the United States on December 13, 2024, bySony Pictures Releasing. The film was abox-office failure, grossing $62 million worldwide against a $110–130 million budget, and received negative reviews from critics.
Following the death of his mother,Sergei Kravinoff and his half-brotherDmitri are taken by their fatherNikolai Kravinoff to prepare to take over his drug trafficking operations. During a hunting trip inGhana, Sergei is injured protecting his brother from a lion. The lion then brings him to a girl namedCalypso, who heals him with a serum and calls for rescue, leaving atarot card behind. Sergei discovers his physical attributes have become animalistic. When Nikolai reveals he killed the lion to teach his sons a lesson, a disgusted Sergei flees to ananimal sanctuary owned by his mother in Russia.
Sixteen years later, Sergei, now going by Kraven, is a vigilante who hunts criminals. After killing an arms trafficker in a Russian prison, Kraven travels to London for Dmitri's birthday. Their reunion is short-lived when mercenaries abduct Dmitri. When Nikolai refuses to pay the ransom, Kraven tracks down Calypso, now working as a lawyer, and convinces her to help. Meanwhile, Dmitri meets the man behind his kidnapping,Aleksei Sytsevich, who took part in an experiment granting him the strength and visage of a rhinoceros. Aleksei proposes an alliance to overthrow Nikolai. Discovering Kraven's connection to Dmitri, Aleksei lures him to a monastery in Turkey, but Kraven survives the ambush. Aleksei hires theForeigner, an assassin who uses ocular hypnosis to disorient his targets, to kill Kraven.
Tracking Kraven and Calypso to his sanctuary, Aleksei and the Foreigner ambush Kraven. Drugging him withneurotoxin, the Foreigner attacks Kraven but Calypso kills him with a crossbow and revives Kraven. He then uses a buffalo stampede to trap Aleksei, who, despite turning into the Rhino and briefly overpowering Kraven, is killed.
Discerning that Nikolai was the one who revealed his existence to Aleksei, Kraven tracks his father for answers. Nikolai reveals that he knew Aleksei was targeting him and manipulated his sons to remove him. Kraven steals ammunition so that his father will be killed by a bear.
One year later, Kraven visits Dmitri and is shocked that he has willingly inherited their father's criminal empire. Having gained shapeshifting abilities from the doctor who experimented on Aleksei, Dmitri reveals this to Kraven and states that despite his claims of being morally superior, he and Nikolai were the same: hunters searching for their next great trophy. At home, Kraven discovers a note from Nikolai along with a vest made from the skin of the lion Nikolai killed long ago, which he puts on.
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Additionally, Masha Vasyukova appears as Kraven's mother. Guillaume Delaunay plays Mofo, a large and intimidating prisoner who becomes Kraven's cellmate.
DirectorSam Raimi planned to include theMarvel Comics characterKraven the Hunter in hisfourthSpider-Man film before that project was canceled in favor ofThe Amazing Spider-Man (2012), areboot of the franchise.[20]Sony Pictures announced plans in December 2013 forThe Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) to establish ashared universe—inspired by theMarvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)—based on the Marvel properties they held the rights to.[21] Kraven was teased in that film,[22] with its directorMarc Webb expressing interest in seeing the character appear on film.[23] In February 2015, Sony andMarvel Studios announced a new partnership to co-produce the filmSpider-Man: Homecoming (2017), and integrate theSpider-Man character with Marvel's MCU.[24] In May 2017, Sony announced its own shared universe,[25] later named "Sony's Spider-Man Universe" (SSU).[26] Sony intended this to be "adjunct" to their MCU Spider-Man films,[27] featuring Spider-Man related properties beginning withVenom (2018).[25] The studio was considering a Kraven film for the universe.[28] Before learning that Sony had the film rights for Kraven, directorRyan Coogler hoped to include the character in his MCU filmBlack Panther (2018) because of a fight betweenBlack Panther and Kraven inChristopher Priest'sBlack Panther comic book run.[29]
Richard Wenk was hired to write a screenplay forKraven the Hunter in August 2018, a month after the successful release of Sony'sThe Equalizer 2 (2018), which he wrote. The project was billed as "the next chapter" of Sony's shared universe.[7][30] Wenk was tasked with introducing Kraven to audiences and figuring out which character he could hunt in the film since Spider-Man, considered to be Kraven's "white whale" in the comic books, was unlikely to appear due to the MCU deal. Whether the film would target adult audiences would depend on the audience response toVenom's darker approach.[7] In October, Wenk said he was "cracking" the story and tone of the film before beginning scripting. He intended to adhere to the character's comic book lore, including by featuring Kraven fighting Spider-Man. Wenk said Sony intended to adapt theKraven's Last Hunt (1987) comic book storyline, and there were ongoing discussions over whether to do that in this film or a later one. Wenk compared the latter approach to the two-part filmKill Bill (2003/2004). He expressed interest in havingEqualizer directorAntoine Fuqua join the film; Fuqua considered directing Sony's Marvel-based filmMorbius (2022), and would decide on directingKraven based on the script.[31] Sony confirmed that a film featuring Kraven was in development in March 2019.[32]
Jon Watts, the director ofHomecoming and its sequelSpider-Man: Far From Home (2019), expressed interest in featuring Kraven in a potential thirdSpider-Man film set within the MCU;[33] Wattspitched a film pittingPeter Parker / Spider-Man against Kraven to Spider-Man starTom Holland, but this idea was abandoned in favor of themultiversal story ofSpider-Man: No Way Home (2021).[34] By August 2020,Art Marcum and Matt Holloway had re-written the script, after doing uncredited rewrites forMorbius.[35][36] At that time,J. C. Chandor entered talks to direct the film,[35] whileMatt Tolmach,Avi Arad, and David Householter were set as producers.[35][37] Chandor was confirmed as director in May 2021, whenAaron Taylor-Johnson was cast to star as Kraven,[6] and signed on to portray the character in multiple films.[6] Sony had previously approached actors such asBrad Pitt,Keanu Reeves,John David Washington andAdam Driver for the role,[38] withLewis Pullman also auditionining,[39] but Sony executives moved quickly to cast Taylor-Johnson after they were "blow[n] away" by early footage of him in the filmBullet Train (2022). Taylor-Johnson began negotiations shortly after an initial phone call with Chandor and Tolmach.[40][41][42] By July,Jodie Turner-Smith was reportedly in talks to portray Kraven's love interest,Calypso.[43] That October, Holland said he and Pascal had discussed him potentially reprising his role as Spider-Man in the film.[44] Neither Holland nor his character appeared in the finished film; according to a Sony source who spoke toVariety,The Walt Disney Company, which held the rights to the MCU, never forbade Sony from using Holland or the Peter Parker / Spider-Man character, with the character appearing in theSony Pictures Animation feature filmSpider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018), but Sony felt that audiences would not accept Holland's live-action Spider-Man unexpectedly appearing in a non-MCU film, especially afterNo Way Home andDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) established definitive boundaries for the MCU.[45]
The film was greenlit with a production budget of $90 million, but due tothe 2023 writers and actors strike the costs increased.[2] The final cost was reportedly as high $130 million, butVariety disputed this figure, estimating it cost "upward of $110 million".[3]
Russell Crowe was cast in an undisclosed role in early February 2022.The Hollywood Reporter noted that many of the main characters in the film would be members of Kraven's family, with Crowe potentially portraying Kraven's father.[19] By then,Kodi Smit-McPhee had been offered the role ofChameleon, Kraven's half-brother, but declined due to a scheduling conflict.[46] Turner-Smith was also confirmed to have not been cast as Calypso.[47] Later in February,Fred Hechinger joined the cast, reportedly as Chameleon.[14] In March, Ariana DeBose joined the cast, reportedly in the Calypso role,[12]Alessandro Nivola was cast as a villain,[48] andChristopher Abbott was cast as the film's main villain, which was reported to be theForeigner.[18] Nivola said he joined the film to work with Chandor again afterA Most Violent Year (2014).[49] Taylor-Johnson was preparing for stunt training with Chandor in England, just outside of London, for the following couple of weeks.[50]
Filming occurred inIceland in early February 2022,[51][52] atLake Mývatn, using theworking titleSafari.[51]TrueNorth Productions handled the production services,[51][53] with an 80-person crew involved in the shooting over two days.[51]Principal photography began on March 20, 2022,[54] in London, England, under the working titleSpiral.[55]Ben Davis served as cinematographer after doing so for several MCU films.[52][56][better source needed]Levi Miller joined the cast in April,[57] and DeBose confirmed that she was portraying Calypso in the film a month later when she had already been filming in London.[13] In mid-June, Taylor-Johnson revealed that he had wrapped filming and stated that the film was shot entirely on location,[10] which he said "add[ed] something really beautiful" to the personal story, and called it important for the authenticity of the character.[42] Nivola also wrapped filming at that time,[58] and said the characters' physical abilities in the film were grounded in reality, while Chandor described it as depicting the "most incredible Olympic athlete you've ever seen".[49] Filming also took place inGlasgow, Scotland.[52]
In August 2022, Nivola stated that the film would include a time jump and that his character would only physically transform in the final act, so he was not required to do extensivegreen screen work. He described it as a "classic villain role" with "complex psychology and personal history to draw on".[49] The following month, Hechinger confirmed that he was portraying Dmitri Smerdyakov / Chameleon.[15] Later in September, the film's release date was delayed to October 6, 2023, from January 13, 2023.[59] In April 2023, Crowe and Nivola were confirmed to be respectively portraying Kraven's father and the characterRhino. Taylor-Johnson confirmed that the film would receive anR rating by theMotion Picture Association, the first SSU film and the firstSpider-Man related project overall to do so.[60][16] Due to the2023 SAG-AFTRA strike in July, the film's release date was delayed to August 30, 2024.[61] In August 2023, the film's final writing credits were given: Wenk received sole credit for the story and shared credit for the screenplay with Marcum and Holloway, while off-screen additional literary credit was given toDonny Cates, Chris Bremner, Chandor, Adamma Ebo, Adanne Ebo, Zak Olkewicz, andOren Uziel.[62]
In April 2024, the film's release date was further delayed to December 13, 2024,[63] to avoid competition from other franchise films releasing around the prior August date. Tolmach also attributed the release delay as a strategic reflection of Sony's excitement for the film.[64] Chandor felt that the delays allowed him to "sharpen" the characters and "tighten" the plot, deeming the reshoots strategic and effective. Despite the disastrous underperformance ofMadame Web (2024), Sony felt optimistic thatKraven the Hunter would be more in line with theVenom films, with Chandor opining that the film would surprise the audience once it released.[65]Craig Wood serves as the film's editor.[66]
Benjamin Wallfisch was hired in June 2023 to compose the score for the film.[67]
Sony debuted the first footage from the film in a "show reel" of the studio's upcoming films atCinemaCon in April 2022.[68] The first trailer was showcased during Sony's panel at CinemaCon in April 2023.[16] On June 19, 2023, the trailer leaked online and was subsequently followed by the official poster and ared band trailer the same day.[69][70][37] The second trailer was released on August 14, 2024, featuring the song "The Man Comes Around" (2002) byJohnny Cash. Ellise Shafer ofVariety said Kraven "shows no mercy" in the trailer with his gruesome methods, feeling it "transforms [Kraven] from your average hitman into the fur-wearing baddie" the character is known as in the comics.[71] In November, a commercial aired during the2024 NFL season featuring members of theBaltimore Ravens, particularly kickerJustin Tucker who suggested renaming the team the "Baltimore Kravens".[72] Sony Pictures released the first eight minutes of the film on itsYouTube channel on December 2. Bradley Russell atTotal Film felt releasing the footage for free a week ahead of the film's release was a surprise, but also believed it was a "bold tactic that might just sell" audiences to watch the film.[73]
Kraven the Hunter was theatrically released in the United States on December 13, 2024, inIMAX andpremium large formats (PLFs).[63] It was previously scheduled for release on January 13, 2023,[6] October 6, 2023,[59] and August 30, 2024.[61]
Kraven the Hunter was released on digital download on January 14, 2025, and on4K Ultra HD,Blu-ray, andDVD on March 4, bySony Pictures Home Entertainment.[4][74] It was released onNetflix in the U.S. on March 13.[75]
The film ranked No. 1 onFandango's VOD chart and No. 2 oniTunes for the week of January 13–19. It held the top spot on iTunes for its first three days before moving to second place.[76] The film later ranked third in overall disc sales and fourth on the Blu-ray sales chart for the week ending March 8. High-definition formats made up 47% of its total sales, with 45% from standard Blu-ray and 2% from 4K Ultra HD.[77] It was later No. 4 on both theCircana VideoScan First Alert chart and the Blu-ray sales chart for the week ending March 15.[78]Kraven the Hunter climbed five spots to re-enter the UK'sOfficial Film Chart Top 10 for the week ending March 20, having previously peaked at No. 5.[79]
On Netflix,Kraven the Hunter reached No. 1 on the Top 10 Movies in the United States chart as of March 14.[80] The film later garnered 7.1 million views and 15 million hours viewed on the platform, placing it behindThe Electric State andPlankton: The Movie.[81][82] Analytics companySamba TV, which gathers viewership data from certainsmart TVs and content providers, reported that the film was the sixth-most streamed title from March 10–16.[83][84]Nielsen Media Research, which records streaming viewership on certain American television screens, calculated thatKraven the Hunter was streamed for 911 million minutes during the week of March 10–16, ranking as the third most-streamed film and the eighth most-streamed program overall.[85][86] In the following week, from March 17–23, the film recorded 706 million minutes of watch time, making it the fifth most-streamed film for that period.[87][88] From March 24–30,Kraven the Hunter was streamed for 336 million minutes, remaining the fifth most-streamed film of the week.[89][90] Between January and June 2025,Kraven the Hunter accumulated a total of 2.968 billion minutes streamed, ranking as the eleventh most-streamed film in that period.[91][92]
Kraven the Hunter grossed $25 million in the United States and Canada, and $37 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $62 million.[4][5]Deadline Hollywood calculated the film lost the studio $71 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues.[93]
In the United States and Canada,Kraven the Hunter was released alongsideThe Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, and was projected to gross $13–15 million from 3,211 theaters in its opening weekend.[2][94] The film made $4.8 million on its first day, and went on to debut to $11 million, finishing third behind holdoversMoana 2 andWicked.[95] The film made $3.1 million in its second weekend, for a per-screen average of $950.[96] It dropped out of the box office top ten in its third weekend.[97]
The film received overwhelmingly negative reviews from critics.[98] On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 15% of 158 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4/10. The website's consensus reads: "Claiming no trophies with its rote story and shoddy special effects,Kraven the Hunter turns out to be a paper tiger."[99]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, assigned the film a score of 35 out of 100, based on 41 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.[100] Audiences surveyed byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C" on an A+ to F scale, while those polled byPostTrak gave it a 59% overall positive score.[95]
Lyvie Scott ofInverse wrote, "A clunky, crowded script, muddy visual effects, and glaringly obviousADR bog down a promising premise. It's not camp enough to become acult classic, and it lacks the conviction to carry its most ambitious ideas to the finish line."[101] David Ehrlich ofIndieWire gave the film a C− grade, stating that "the CGI devolves from "adorably cartoonish" to "done as cheaply as possible by a studio trying to cut its losses" so fast that it comes dangerously close toScorpion King territory by the end.[102]The Daily Telegraph's Tim Robey gave it one out of five stars, writing, "Last orders can't come soon enough for the whole parade of supervillains, superheroes, or however they're now choosing to identify. This is rock bottom."[103]
Ian Freer ofEmpire gave it two out of five stars, writing, "This all feels a long way from Chandor's glory days ofMargin Call andAll Is Lost. Save the occasional flourish,Kraven the Hunter is limp, tired, uninvolving superhero fare."[104]Peter Bradshaw ofThe Guardian also gave it 2 out of 5 stars, saying that Chandor "does a serviceable job, but the delirious craziness that once made the superhero genre so watchable is not really in evidence. Kraven is a so-so character in a so-so film and the superhero revival is as far away as ever."[105]The Hindu's Gopinath Rajendran wrote, "Not only is the wafer-thin plot painfully predictable but the secondary characters, despite being played by able performers, such [sic]Academy Award-winner Ariana DeBose, are reduced to one-dimensional muppets who add little to the overall narrative."[106]
The A.V. Club's Jesse Hassenger gave the film a B− grade, writing, "while all of the previous movies in this barely-series seemed scrambled together in a panic, Chandor's movie seems scrambled together with a great deal of confidence and a bit of style."[107] Adam Graham ofThe Detroit News said the film "is far from the cream of the crop in the superhero space, but non-discerning comic book fans may appreciate the spoils of this bounty" and gave it a C+ grade.[108]Kevin Maher ofThe Times gave it three out of five stars, saying it "remains ludicrous to the end but it's never anything less than entertaining."[109]
Sony Pictures CEOTony Vinciquerra blamed critics forKraven the Hunter's box office failure, insisting that audiences who saw the film loved it and comparing it to theNetflix viewing numbers thatMadame Web (2024) received.[110] Alessandro Nivola was more neutral, adding that while his experience filming the movie was "joyful", he figured that the overall quality came down to the editing. One particularly notable sequence where Nivola's character makes an odd guttural scream was acknowledged by the actor as beingInternet meme-worthy. He had made what he referred to as a "silent scream", but the sound was changed in post.[111]
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Golden Raspberry Awards | February 28, 2025 | Worst Remake, Rip-off or Sequel | Kraven the Hunter | Nominated | [112] |
| Worst Supporting Actress | Ariana DeBose[a] | Nominated | |||
| Worst Screenplay | Art Marcum,Matt Holloway, andRichard Wenk | Nominated |
Chandor stated he was willing to make a second and final film featuring the character, based onKraven's Last Hunt and setting Kraven againstSpider-Man. "It's obviously very tragic and sad… but the character we're trying to create is one who could realistically, if this film is a success, end withLast Hunt.[113] Similarly, Taylor-Johnson expressed interest in aSinister Six crossover film.[114] In December 2024, following the film's projected financial failure, it was reported thatKraven would be the final film in Sony's Spider-Man Universe, ending any chance for a sequel or crossover,[115][116] with a later report fromVariety stating that Sony had not technically established an official shared universe because it did not connect their narratives, and was not likely to stop making films for other characters, such as Venom, which were successful.[117]
has already received overwhelmingly negative reviews with only a handful of positive comments
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