There are several reasons why Venom 3 and Kraven the Hunter could avoid the lingering negative reception from Madame Web. For Kraven, The Aaron Taylor-Johnson-led film is the first Sony Spider-Man Universe film to be rated R. The trailer showed lots of bloody violence, and a more mature and gory superhero flick could be something that attracts audiences. Also, the character was recently featured as a central villain in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 video game, so there is a boost of popularity that could help the film at the box office.

Meanwhile, Venom 3 is riding the success of the previous two Venom films, so it could escape the poor perception of this universe. The first two Venom films weren’t hits with critics, but audiences still showed up, and Tom Hardy’s performance as Venom gets people in theater seats. Sony’s Marvel universe is in trouble right now, but Kraven the Hunter still has time to course-correct the franchise after Madame Web.