Madame Web, Kraven were good but ‘destroyed’ by critics, says Sony boss

No one wants to end a seven-and-a-half-year run at a major Hollywood studio with an all-timer dud… but, unfortunately, Sony Pictures put out Kraven the Hunter just a few short weeks before CEO Tony Vinciquerra’s last day on the job. The executive spoke frankly about the flop in an illuminating exit interview with the LA Times ahead of his Jan. 2 departure.

When asked about the splashy failure of the Spider-Man-adjacent Kraven, which has yet to cross the $20 million mark in the U.S. in its first two weeks, Vinciquerra admits the long-delayed superhero movie was “probably the worst launch” Sony had during his tenure. But he stands up for the Aaron Taylor-Johnson vehicle, calling it “not a bad film.”

The interviewer hits a bit of a nerve by saying the words “Madame Web” out loud. Vinciquerra also calls the first of 2024’s three Spider-Man-adjacent Sony movies “not a bad film.” Madame Web played well on Netflix, according to Vinciquerra (a claim corroborated by the movie’s sustained placement in the Netflix top 10 for a few weeks over the summer), but in the end, the “press just crucified it.” Critics also had their knives out for Venom, the CEO says, but in the case of that trilogy-starter, “the audience loved Venom.”

Vinciquerra has reason to take victory laps after running Sony Pictures since 2017: as the feature mentions, he has played a major role in growing the company’s anime footprint and, by all accounts, has been behind the studio’s commitment to theatrical distribution and filmmaker support. Sony also acquired the Alamo Drafthouse theater chain over the summer, and sees potential for it as a springboard for Crunchyroll movie exclusives. But more words than expected are committed to defending the Sony Spider-likes, and damning critics for hating on Madame Web.

Critics did not care for this year’s Spidey-less slate, that’s true. On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Madame Web stands with an 11% positive, Venom: The Last Dance with 41%, and Kraven bottoms out with 15%. Rotten Tomatoes’ newly added “Popcornmeter” — a judgement issued by verified #fans of #movies — tells a slightly different tale: Madame Web got a thumbs up from 55% of fans, The Last Dance earned 81%, and Kraven gets a major boost at 73%.

Why would critics be out to sack Sony’s Spider-Man villain movies? Vinciquerra doesn’t have any theories, but he acknowledges the studio is set to “rethink” its Marvel strategy. Not because the movies are bad, but because, as Vinciquerra puts it, if the studio released another one the press would destroy it by virtue of being a Sony Spider-Man-adjacent movie.

“For some reason, the press decided that they didn’t want us making these films out of Kraven and Madame Web,” Vinciquerra says. “These are not terrible films. They were just destroyed by the critics in the press, for some reason.”

Vinciquerra’s tenure saw the release of a number of movies that actually involved Spider-Man, including No Way Home (93% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes) and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-verse (95% critics’ score). But from the studio’s perspective, the press really, really did not want a Kraven movie, specifically. Maybe the non-Popcornmeter fans didn’t either; shortly after the movie bombed at the box-office, the Marvel Studios subreddit was begging for Sony to sell off the rights to the characters in hopes of a brighter future.

Sony’s COO Ravi Ahuja will step into the CEO role on Jan. 2. It’s unclear which direction Sony will go with its IP, but for now, it’s full speed ahead on Spider-Man 4. But let’s be very clear about something: I speak for all members of the entertainment press when I say I personally had a great time at Madame Web and fully encourage the development and production of Madame Web 2. Her web connects them all.