Summary
Sony’sSpider-Manspin-off universe has had a difficult run, with successive movies struggling to improve on their predecessor’s box office. Beginning with Tom Hardy’sVenomin 2018, Sony has posited that they don’t need Spider-Man himself to make a daring cinematic universe featuring characters from the webslinger’s expanded lore, even if Spider-Man supposedly does exist in Sony’s universe off-screen. WhileSpider-Man’s MCU journeyhas been one of Marvel Studio’s most profitable ventures, Sony has yet to find the same level of success with his comic book peers.
In the wake of Sony’s most recent commercial failures, the studio has seemingly put several more planned spin-off movies on the chopping block, most recently includingthe cancelation of the plannedEl Meurtomovie. Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock has so far been carrying the franchise, with the universe’s two other entries putting up abysmal numbers. This reputation could put Sony’s future plans on the precipice of financial failure, with the box office fates of the upcomingKraven the HunterandVenom: The Last Dancein grave peril.
$856,085,161
$506,863,592
$167,460,961
$100,298,817
Madame Web
Cast
Madame Web is a superhero movie based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. Taking place in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, the movie revolves around a clairvoyant woman who can look into different dimensions. Dakota Johnson stars in the lead role, with Sydney Sweeney, Adam Scott, Isabela Merced, and Celeste O’Connor comprising the rest of the cast.
The latest Sony Spider-Man spin-off film centers on one of the studio’s most obscure characters yet, Madame Web. Better known for being the blind oracle that gave Spider-Man cryptic advice inSpider-Man: The Animated Series,Madame Webseemed like a strange gamble for Sony at the time of its release, and its box office numbers seemed to have confirmed that theory. The film stars Dakota Johnson as the titular heroine, telling the origin story of how a simple paramedic became an omniscient spider diviner.
Madame Webwas Sony’s most abysmal box office performance yet, earninga pitiful $43,817,106in its domestic run.The international community didn’t treatMadame Webmuch better, adding a mere $56,481,711 to the film’s running total. On a production budget that could generously be estimated at 80 million dollars before advertising, it’s safe to say thatMadame Webwas a massive misstep for Sony’s universe, going down as thesingle lowest opening run in Spider-Man history.
Madame Webhad a number of factors going against it that contributed to its shockingly low numbers. Madame Web is an obscure character in the first place, with the film being the first comic book movie ever made to star a protagonist that never headlined their own comic. On top of that, the film’s poor critical reception, negative word-of-mouth reviews, and Dakota Johnson’s bizarre press tour that made no effort to hide her clear distaste for the movie killed any remaining interest.Madame Weblost big toBob Marely: One Love, which released on the same Valentine’s Day.
Morbius
Morbius stars Jared Leto as the enigmatic antihero Michael Morbius set in the Sony Pictures Marvel universe. Afflicted with a terrible illness since his youth, Michael has struggled until he met his new surrogate brother, Lucian, nicknamed Milo (Matt Smith), who shares the same disease. The two bond over the illness, and years later, Michael discovers a potential breakthrough by using a unique gene in vampire bats. When the experiment proves to be a success, it cures Michael of his ailment - however, it also turns him into a bloodthirsty vampire. While Michael aims to curtail his bloodlust, his brother, who has also taken the cure, does not share the same empathy. As a result, Michael will have to manage his powers while trying to stop his brother’s murderous rampage.
AfterVenom’s modest success, Sony decided to pivot to a villain-centric universe, adding Dr. Michael Morbius to the roster of their new franchise. Boasting the star power of Jared Leto and Matt Smith,Morbiuscould’ve hoped to make up for the titular vampire’s lack of marquee value. The film follows Dr. Michael Morbius, a brilliant biochemical scientist who, in an attempt to cure himself of a rare bloodborne disease, ends up accidentally turning himself into a vampire. When the wealthy scion uses the same formula only to descend into madness, Morbius is the only one capable of stopping him.
The first major flop of Sony’s Spider-Man universe
Morbiusended its theater runwith a mere $167,460,961 total, opening domestically to the sound of only $39,005,895. On an estimated budget in the neighborhood of 70 million dollars before advertising,Morbiuslikely struggled to break even, and ended up being the first major flop of Sony’s Spider-Man universe. To add insult to financial injury,Sony was tricked into re-releasingMorbiusdue to a misread of a sarcastic positive reception on the internet, likely costing the studio lose what little money they were able to recoup on the project.
LikeMadame Webafter it,Morbiussuffered from critical panning shortly after its release, compounding with the character’s relative obscurity to result in a film that simply couldn’t generate the necessary interest. It didn’t help that its release date in April 2022 also putMorbiusup against crowdpleaser franchise films likeSonic the Hedgehog 2andFantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore,both of which outperformed the ill-fated vampire antihero. To this day,Morbiusremains an infamous blunder on Sony’s part.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage
Venom: Let There Be Carnage, directed by Andy Serkis, follows Eddie Brock, portrayed by Tom Hardy, as he struggles to coexist with the alien symbiote Venom. The film introduces the antagonist Cletus Kasady, a serial killer transformed into the menacing Carnage after becoming host to an alien symbiote.
Picking up where Tom Hardy’s sweaty, confused Eddie Brock left off in the firstVenomfilm to kick off Sony’s latest Spider-Man universe,Venom: Let There Be Carnagehas been one of the franchise’s better-performing entries. Hardy returns as Eddie Brock, having somewhat made peace with his relationship to the unstable alien symbiote Venom. This time around, the duo have to face off against a new threat, the serial killer Cletus Kasady, who bonds with Venom’s progeny, the even more insatiably violent Carnage.
TheVenomsequel wasn’t able to escape the shadow of its predecessor at the box office, but wasn’t altogether a disappointment for Sony. The film ended its worldwide theatrical release with aworldwide haul of $506,863,592. With a budget of 110 million dollars,Venom: Let There Be Carnagewas a satisfying, if not ideal, take for Sony. It seems as though the excitement for Carnage’s first live-action movie appearance wasenough to pique the interest of enough Spider-Man fans.
The box office performance forVenom: Let There Be Carnagewas commendable considering its release in the tail end of the pandemic. Releasing alongside the family-friendly animated movieThe Addams Family 2and theSopranosprequel crime dramaThe Many Saints of Newark,Venom: Let There Be Carnagehad little standing in its way in terms of high-profile releases. Reviews for the film were uneven, with some returning viewers enjoying it more than the firstVenomand others thinking of it as a step down in quality.
Venom
Venom is an action sci-fi movie that stars Tom Hardy as the titular Marvel anti-hero. When the Life Foundation begins experimenting on alien lifeforms they find on a comet that landed nearby, Investigative Journalist Eddie Brock begins to investigate them. When an infiltration goes wrong, Eddie finds that one of the aliens has bonded to him, forcing him to learn to live with his new uninvited host. Giving him superhuman powers, the two begin to work together to stop the rest of the symbiote’s invasive species.
The film slowly shifts the character into more of an antihero
As of the time of writing, Sony’s most successful entry in its latest iteration of Spider-Man’s New York City has been none other than its first.Venomre-introduces audiences to the lethal protector, not seen in theaters since Sam Raimi’s infamousSpider-Man 3, pairing him up with Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock, a failed reporter in way over his head. While the parasitic symbiote Venom begins the film as an antagonistic presence, the film slowly shifts the character into more of an antihero, taking on the fellow bonded pair of Carlton Drake and the symbiote Riot.
Venomwas an unequivocal success for Sony, making$213,515,506 domestically and $642,569,645 worldwideon a budget hovering around 110 million dollars.Venomwas even able to set some impressive records, being the seventh-highest opening for a Sony film ever and taking home the crown of the best Columbus Day box office take. While the film’s critical reception didn’t match the numbers it was putting up, Tom Hardy’s chemistry with himself in the dual-role of Venom and Eddie Brock made enough of an impression for the film to earn back its budget and then some.
Venomwas able to dominate the box office during its October release in 2018, with its biggest competition beingA Star Is Bornand the reboot of John Carpenter’s horror classicHalloween.Curiously,Venomwas particularly popular in China, being Sony’s highest-grossing Chinese release by far, and only lagging behindAvengers: Infinity Waras the most popular superhero film released in the region ever. Without the success ofVenom, it’s safe to say that Sony’s new franchise wouldn’t have come as far as it already did.
Venom: The Last Dance
Venom: The Last Dance is a film directed by an undisclosed director, featuring the character Venom in a thrilling narrative. The movie explores the alien symbiote’s latest challenges and transformations as it navigates through a world full of danger and new adversaries.
The next two films fromSony’s Spider-Man universeslated to release areVenom: The Last DanceandKraven The Hunter.While the third film rounding out theVenomtrilogy has a chance at harnessing the established goodwill from the previous two films, Kraven is an utterly unproven box office presence, having never appeared in a feature film beyond the briefest ofcameos inSpider-Man: No Way Home.Either way, the precarious position the Sony Spider-man universe have found themselves in following the back-to-back failures ofMorbiusandMadame Webmeans a lot is riding on both movies.
Unfortunately,Kraven The Hunteris unlikely to prove to be a breakout success for Sony. In a world where superhero movies have become increasingly common, the teaser trailer forKraven The Hunterwasn’t able to summon much enthusiasm with its bleak tone, and the R-rating, unprecedented territory for a Sony film, will likely further alienate a decent portion of its already slim audience. On a budget slightly higher than that ofMadame Web’s,the Aaron Taylor-Johnson star vehicle can likely expect a similarly unimpressivebox office take somewhere between 100 and 150 million dollars.
On the other hand,Venom: The Last Dancemay be able to count on the increase in positive critical reception fromVenomtoVenom: Let There Be Carnage, drafting another take on the proven formula of Eddie and Venom’s buddy-cop chemistry. Still, the undeniable truth is that each successive film in the Sony Spider-Man spin-off universe has been released with poorer numbers than the last.Venom: The Last Danceis likely to raise around 300 to 400 million dollars domestically, possibly ending Sony’s most recent attempt at aSpider-Manuniverse.
