Sony exec says Madame Web and Kraven the Hunter bombed because of critics: 'These are not terrible films'

Sony Pictures CEO Tony Vinciquerra thinks critics are to blame for why Madame Web and Kraven the Hunter both got vanquished at the box office this year. 

The wave of negative reviews surrounding both of the company’s latest Spider-Man spinoffs led to the films having such dismal opening weekends, Vinciquerra claimed in a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times.

“Madame Web underperformed in the theaters because the press just crucified it,” Vinciquerra told the outlet. “It was not a bad film, and it did great on Netflix. For some reason, the press decided that they didn’t want us making these films out of Kraven and Madame Web, and the critics just destroyed them.” 

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He added, “These are not terrible films. They were just destroyed by the critics in the press, for some reason.” 

Released in February, Madame Web saw Dakota Johnson star as a paramedic who uses her psychic powers to protect a group of teens. The film, which was both panned by critics and turned into a meme online, was just able to break even on its $100 million budget after earning $50 million worldwide on its opening weekend. It has since found a second life after being released on streaming services.

Madame Web actually marked Sony’s lowest opening weekend in its Spider-Man universe prior to the release of their latest project, Kraven the Hunter. The Aaron Taylor-Johnson-led antihero film, which currently holds a 16 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, was similarly met with punishing reviews, going on to bank only $26 million in its global box office debut.  

Vinciquerra, who is stepping down from his position in January, also claimed that critics tried to use the same tactic to sink Tom Hardy’s Venom series, but that “the audience loved Venom and made Venom a massive hit” despite its reviews. He also said that 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 film launch, is probably the worst launch we had in the 7 1/2 years so that didn’t work out very well,” the executive said, “which I still don’t understand, because the film is not a bad film.”

As a result, Vinciquerra believes the entire Spider-Man universe at Sony needs an overhaul — if only to get away from all of the negativity surrounding it these days. “I do think we need to rethink it, just because it’s snake-bitten,” he said. “If we put another one out, it’s going to get destroyed, no matter how good or bad it is.”

Vinciquerra isn’t the only person pointing a finger at others when it comes why Madame Web flopped at the box office. Emma Roberts, who played Spider-Man’s mom, previously told Variety that “internet culture” was to blame for the film's negative reception.

"I personally really loved Madame Web. I really enjoyed the movie. I thought everyone in it was great," Roberts said. "The director, S.J. Clarkson, I think did an amazing job. She's the reason I wanted to do that movie. If it wasn't for internet culture and everything being made into a joke, I think that the reception would've been different."