I’m Convinced The DCU Could Make Its Own Successful Version Of One Of Marvel’s Lowest-Grossing Movies With 1 Underrated DC Villain

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The DCU has an opportunity to create a successful version of one of Marvel’s lowest-grossing movies, and I hope it’s already in the pipeline. The new DCU is due to commence in earnest with Superman, which is due to release on July 11 of this year. Just by the look of the trailers, I’m pretty confident that the new DC Studios co-CEO, James Gunn, will be steering the franchise in the right direction over one year after the DCEU released its final movie, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, in December 2023.

The DCU is debuting at a particularly tumultuous time for superhero movies. The MCU is struggling to remain consistent with its Multiverse Saga releases, and Sony’s Spider-Man Universe is seemingly defunct as it put a pause on most future superhero productions, Nicholas Cage’s Spider-Noir series notwithstanding. Nevertheless, the DCU looks poised to inject the genre with some optimism, as the bright and comic-faithful adaptation of Superman suggests. In fact, it could even flip the script on one of the most disastrous superhero movie releases of the last decade.

Kraven The Hunter Is One Of Marvel’s Least Successful Movie Releases In Recent History

It Grossed Just $60 Million Worldwide

Kraven the Hunter was the ill-fated final movie in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe. Released in December 2024, it was the latest installment of the franchise to spotlight a character that typically sits at the forefront of Spider-Man’s iconic rogues’ gallery, giving him a moral makeover and centering him as a hero, albeit one who has no qualms about killing his enemies. Despite the unique R-rating, a decent cast, and the fact that it wasn’t as critically lambasted as the more successful Madame Web, Kraven the Hunter grossed a franchise-record-breaking $60 million worldwide.

This wasn’t just a bleak record for Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, but one of the lowest worldwide box office results for any superhero movie. It now sits around the same ballpark as 2005’s Elektra ($57 million) and 2013’s Kick-Ass 2 ($63 million), with the latter coincidentally also starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Even the critically panned Catwoman fared better financially, grossing $82 million worldwide when it was released in 2004. Although it fared better financially than other superhero movies of the last decade, like 2024’s The Crow ($16 million), it remains one of the more high-profile flops in the genre.

Kraven The Hunter’s Premise Arguably Wasn’t The Problem With The Movie

Kraven The Hunter Was Affected By Multiple External Factors

Kraven the Hunter was far from perfect, but I don’t think its biggest issue was the premise. One of the main criticisms leveled at the movie ahead of its release was a general sentiment that audiences weren’t asking for a solo Kraven film. Nevertheless, I’m sure that if certain factors were mitigated ahead of time, it could have been a sleeper hit. After all, the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise remains one of the MCU’s most successful financially and critically, and it stars a then-lesser-known cohort of Marvel characters for whom there was no explicit appetite before its release.

Instead, I think Kraven the Hunter suffered partly from the general lack of confidence in the franchise at that point. While Venom: The Last Dance would claw back some of Sony’s losses, audiences could no longer overlook the fact that the franchise’s movies that didn’t star Venom were of dependably poor quality. I’m not about to suggest that Kraven the Hunter avoided the same pitfalls, however, as it still suffered from some poor writing and inexplicable scenes, like the Rhino letting out a bewildering throaty scream.

The biggest shortfall for Kraven the Hunter and its predecessors, however, is clear. Sony’s Spider-Man Universe suffered from the conspicuous absence of its titular superhero, with Spider-Man instead being confined to the MCU. Thankfully, DC Studios has no such restrictions to hold its productions back, and if James Gunn continues his habit of spotlighting lesser-known characters and catapulting them into superstardom, then I think it could deliver its own version of Kraven.

DC’s Equivalent Of Kraven Would Be Theoretically Perfect For A DCU Movie

DC Has Its Own Gruff Hunter Antihero

There are famously many glaring parallels to be drawn between DC and Marvel’s heroes and villains, and such is the case with one lesser-known villain-turned-antihero of DC Comics. Namely, Catman. Catman began as a villainous and hammy Catwoman knock-off, parading in a Batman-like outfit and stealing cat-themed items. Then there was a significant overhaul of the character in the mid-2000s, where he was transformed into a more rough-and-ready big game hunter living in Africa – an MO ripped straight out of Kraven the Hunter’s playbook.

With some confirmed DCU projects already spotlighting lesser-known characters like Booster Gold, Swamp Thing, and The Authority, I think a Catman adaptation would be perfect for the DCU. Catman is also a key member of the Secret Six, a team of villains in the same vein as the Suicide Squad who carry out morally dubious missions. With Amanda Waller already established in the DCU via Creature Commandos, this is perfect timing to deliver on DC’s Kraven the Hunter, where James Gunn’s magic can deliver a more appealing take.

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Source: The Numbers

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