2024’s Biggest Franchise-Killing Box Office Flops Is Gaining New Life on Streaming Charts

Kraven the Hunter is now climbing the charts on Prime Video after being one of the biggest box office failures of 2024. The film was able to rake in only $62 million worldwide against a budget of $110-130 million during its theatrical run. Plus, critics were really harsh on the movie as well, as the film holds a dismal 15% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes. Still, the movie has surprisingly found new life on streaming as it recently started making its way into New Zealand’s Top 10 on Prime.

And while the critics’ reviews have been brutal, audiences seem far more forgiving. The movie holds a much better 72% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes in comparison, and it has slowly gained a reputation as one of those “so bad it’s good” films that works perfectly on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Also, a big reason for the sudden interest has to be Aaron Taylor-Johnson. His intense performance was one of the few things that stood out in Kraven, and now that he recently starred in the critically acclaimed 28 Years Later, it seems like fans are going back to see more of his work.

The timing also works in Kraven’s favor, as superhero movies are having a resurgence thanks to recent hits like The Fantastic Four: First Steps and Superman. That momentum has audiences circling back to projects that went under the radar, and Kraven is now benefiting from that second wave of attention. Part of the film’s revival also comes from the fact that it was not as messy as other Sony Spider-Man Universe entries. It avoided clumsy attempts to tie into Spider-Man lore like Madame Web, and skipped awkward post-credits teases like Venom and Morbius. Instead, it tells a mostly self-contained story about a ruthless father who molds his son into becoming the world’s greatest hunter, with blood-soaked fights, animalistic rage, and a family feud that drives the entire movie forward.

‘Kraven the Hunter’ Was the Final SSU Movie

Despite being one of the stronger entries in the Sony Spider-Man Universe, Kraven the Hunter marked the end of the struggling franchise. The SSU had already been stumbling after the failures of Morbius and Madame Web, and Kraven’s poor box office sealed its fate. Sony’s focus has now shifted toward the animated Spider-Verse films, the Tom Holland-led Spider-Man movies set in the MCU, and a live-action Spider-Man Noir series with Nicolas Cage currently in development at Amazon MGM.

Kraven the Hunter is available to stream on Netflix. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.