When it comes to reactions from critics, Rotten Tomatoes is most people’s go-to. But when it comes to the reaction of audiences that paid for their tickets, CinemaScore is as trusted a venue as there can be. It’s a pretty straightforward system, identical to what we all saw in grade school. An A+ is the peak (a score achieved by Die Hard and The Princess Bride) and an F is the lowest (which audiences gave The Devil Inside, a film that ends with giving the viewer a website to check out).
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The scores are generated by collecting the thoughts of those who turned out to see a movie in theaters during the first evening shows on Friday nights. So, what are the thoughts of the few people who have turned out to see Kraven the Hunter its opening weekend? Only 15% of critics on Rotten Tomatoes have given it positive marks, which is better than the 11% given Madame Web and identical to the score of Morbius. Does that translate to the general audience’s collective opinion, as well? In short, no, but it’s close.
[RELATED: Are There Post-Credits Scenes or a Spider-Man Cameo in Kraven the Hunter?]
How Did the Previous SSU Movies Do?
Kraven the Hunter got a C rating from those asked by CinemaScore. This puts it well below the scores achieved by the Venom trilogy. Respectively, Venom and Venom: Let There Be Carnage got solid B+ ratings, while Venom: The Last Dance didn’t do quite as well with a B-.
As for Morbius and Madame Web, those critical and commercial turkeys both managed a C+ score. Considering how widely-reviled the pair is, it’s both a little surprising and a sign of what is to come for Kraven. It’s surprising because Kraven is certainly more entertaining than Madame Web, and many members of the general audience just want to be entertained after shelling out cash on a ticket.
As for what it means regarding Kraven‘s future, films released around the holidays tend to have greater longevity, at least through the end of the year. But the holidays also give viewers more options for what’s playing on the big screen. In other words, it’s a crowded marketplace, and if word of mouth is toxic right out the gate, a movie is going to plummet like a lead balloon.
Is there an upside here? Have there been any superhero movies that have done worse than Kraven the Hunter with general audiences? The silver lining is pretty thin. 2004’s Catwoman received a B, so the SSU-capper is a full letter grade below that cat-astrophe. Even Batman & Robin netted a C+ back in 1997.
At least Kraven is on par with 2019’s failed Hellboy reboot and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, but that’s far from admirable company. In terms of which superhero movies managed to turn audiences off even more than Kraven, there’s really just 2015’s utterly broken Fantastic Four (C-). Things are looking rougher and rougher for SSU’s final installment.
