Beyond the Spider-Verse Has Found Some Familiar Directors
Into the Spider-Verse's Bob Persichetti returns to the co-director's chair with Justin K. Thompson for the third entry in the trilogy.
"Kraven the Hunter" received one of the year's lowest Rotten Tomatoes critic scores, with a critic from the Chicago Sun Times calling it an "undercooked pile of steaming mediocrity."
"Kraven The Hunter" premieres today and has already received overwhelmingly negative reviews with only a handful of positive comments from critics, giving it a Rotten Tomatoes score of 14%.
A score in the mid-teens puts "Kraven" below other films that have been critically panned in 2024, such as "Joker: Folie Γ‘ Deux," "Red One," and "Megalopolis."
"Kraven" also scored lower than other Sony Marvel movies that haven't hit with critics, like "Venom" with 30% on Rotten Tomatoes and "Morbius" with 15%.
However, "Kraven" still ranks better than "Madame Web," which came out earlier this year.
"Madame Web" is the lowest-rated film in Sony's Spider-Man Marvel franchise, with 11%. The film is thus far the lowest grossing in the franchise, with a total of $100 million in ticket sales.
It is unclear if "Madame Web" even turned a profit. Multiple outlets reported the budget before advertising was $80 million.
Although "Kraven" may have "Madame Web" narrowly beat with critics, things are looking worse when it comes to profitability.
Variety reported on Tuesday that "Kraven the Hunter" is predicted to make between $13 to $15 million in ticket sales domestically this weekend β lower than "Madame Web," which grossed $15 million during its first weekend.
Variety also said "Kraven the Hunter" had a higher budget than "Madame Web." Sony spent $110 million on the film before advertising.
"Kraven the Hunter" is Sony's last scheduled live-action movie based on a Spider-Man comic villain or ally, and it is unclear whether they will continue with this series.
Though the first film, "Venom," made $856 million in ticket sales after debuting in 2018, the franchise's box-office success has gradually declined with each new movie. "Kraven" appears to be following this downward trend.
A constant criticism of the franchise is that Spider-Man doesn't appear in any of the films and seemingly has no connection to the universe. This likely led to the low turnout as fans of Marvel's most beloved superhero questioned why they should care.
Sony's other current Spider-Man franchises β the Marvel Cinematic Universe Spider-Man movies starring Tom Holland and the animated "Spider-Verse" trilogy focused on Miles Morales β have had the opposite trajectory with strong ticket sales and universal praise.
Sony is currently developing Holland's fourth "Spider-Man" film, the third "Spider-Verse" movie, and a live-action TV show based on Spider-Noir, a character from the "Spider-Verse" films.
Jack Veal, who played Kid Loki opposite Tom Hiddleston in Marvel's "Loki" TV series, said he's homeless after facing abuse.
The child actor appeared in "Loki" season one in 2021 when he was 14 as an alternate version of titular character. He also played a younger version of the main character in the popular Netflix original "The End of the F**king World" in 2017.
Veal, who is now 17, posted a video on TikTok on Sunday saying that he isn't living at home because of physical and emotional abuse.
The actor asked his audience to help make the video go viral in a attempt to receive support from the UK government.
"I'm a famous actor, I'm 17 and I'm homeless. You may know me from 'Loki', 'The End of the F***ing World,' or various other movies where I played important roles," he said.
The actor said he experienced physical and emotional abuse at home. "I've been sleeping in the streets," he told fans on Sunday, "I have nowhere else to go, and I need help."
@jackvealfitness #charity #homeless #homelessat17 #loki #endofthefuckingworld #help #jackveal
β¬ original sound - jackvealfitness
In his initial video, which has accumulated over 241,000 views since the weekend, Veal said that he hadn't received any help from social services despite being under 18.
Veal added at the time of the video he was sleeping in a trailer with broken windows and showed viewers his temporary accommodation.
Veal pleaded with viewers to share his video, "I'm on my knees, begging, for this, for you guys to just share this and do something βΒ spread the message of how the government are treating kids."
According to the British government, children who are 16 and 17 are classed as a "child in need" and should be provided with accommodation support by their local council's Children's Services.
Centrepoint, the UK charity for youth homelessness, said that the government has a "legal duty" to provide safe housing for children who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
In a follow-up video posted on Tuesday, Veal said support from fans has helped his situation. The 17-year-old said social services have arranged a meeting to help get him into foster care and supported accommodation.
@jackvealfitness THANKYOU!!!
β¬ original sound - jackvealfitness
In his emotional response he added, "I don't know what you guys have done, but it's gotten out there and it's really, really helped me."
Representatives for Disney and Marvel Studios did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.