Sony Pictures CEO Tony Vinciquerra believes critics are to blame for the reason. Madame Web And Kraven the Hunter both were defeated at the box office this year.
The wave of negative reviews surrounding the company’s last two Spider-Man spin-offs led the films to have such dismal opening weekends, Vinciquerra claimed in a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times.
“Madame Web “The film underperformed in theaters because the press just crucified it,” Vinciquerra told the outlet. “It wasn’t a bad movie and it did very well on Netflix. For some reason the press decided they didn’t want us to make these movies from Kraven And Madame Weband the critics simply destroyed them.
Register for Weekly Entertainmentthe free daily newsletter for breaking news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and much more.
Beth Dubber/Sony
He added: “They’re not terrible films. They were destroyed by press criticism, for whatever reason. »
Released in February, Madame Web saw Dakota Johnson plays a paramedic who uses her psychic powers to protect a group of teenagers. The film, which was both slammed by critics And turned into a meme online, was just able to break even on its budget of 100 million dollars after earn $50 million worldwide during its opening weekend. He has since then I found a second life after being released on streaming services.
Madame Web actually marked Sony’s lowest opening weekend in their Spider-Man universe before the release of their latest project, Kraven the Hunter. THE Aaron Taylor Johnson-directed anti-hero film, which currently holds a 16 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, was similarly encountered punitive criticismpassing to bank only $26 million at the worldwide box office beginning.
Vinciquerra, who resigned from his post in January, also claimed that critics tried to use the same tactics to sink Tom HardyIt is Venom series, but that “the public loved Venom and made Venom a huge success” despite its criticism. He also said Sony Pictures has had “mostly very, very good results” with its recent slate of films.
“Unfortunately, (Kraven the Hunter) that we launched last weekend, and my last movie launch, is probably the worst launch we’ve had in 7 and a half years, so it didn’t do very well,” the executive said, ” which I still don’t understand. , because the film is not a bad film.
Jay Maidment
As a result, Vinciquerra thinks the entire Spider-Man universe at Sony needs an overhaul – if only to get away from all the negativity surrounding it these days. “I think we need to rethink that approach, just because it’s a snakebite,” he said. “If we publish another one, it will be destroyed, no matter how good or bad it is.”
Vinciquerra isn’t the only person pointing the finger at others when it comes to why Madame Web a failure at the box office. Emma Roberts, who played Spider-Man’s mother, already said this Variety that “internet culture» was the cause of the film’s negative reception.
“Personally, I really loved Madame Web. I really enjoyed the movie. I thought everyone was great,” Roberts said. “I think the director, SJ Clarkson, did an incredible job. That’s why I wanted to make this movie. If it hadn’t been for Internet culture and everything had become a joke, I think the reception would have been different.