Summary
Following its recent success on Netflix, Emma Roberts is weighing in onMadame Web’s failure and what she thinks the real reason was for its initial failure. The latest installment inSony’s Spider-Man Universeserved as the origin story for the titular Marvel character, exploring her going from a New York City paramedic to a woman with precognitive abilities trying to protect three teenagers from a similarly powered man wanting to prevent his future death at their hands. Led by Dakota Johnson,Madame Webwas deemed a critical failure and commercial underperformer, barely recouping its reported $100 million production budget.
During a recent interview withVarietyfor her Prime Video comedySpace Cadet, Roberts was asked her thoughts on the poor critical reception toMadame Web. The Marvel star held steadfast in her defense of the SSU movie, recalling having “personally really loved” her experience making the movie and citing director S.J. Clarkson as the reason for her joining the project, and ultimately pointed the blame at “internet culture” for why the movie was a failure. See what Roberts explained below:
Things work; things don’t work. Everyone likes to act like they can predict if they’re going to work, or they’re not. And the truth is, you can’t. Things do badly, and then they blow up later on TikTok. Things do well, but then you watch them, and you’re like, “This did well?” There is no secret. It’s about doing something goodish and it hitting at the right time. Everything else is like a wish and a prayer. I’m not intimidated by failure, and I’m not intimidated by people having negative thoughts about something.
I personally really loved “Madame Web.” I really enjoyed the movie. I thought everyone in it was great. 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. And that’s what bums me out about a lot of stuff, even stuff that I’ve done, is people just make such a joke out of everything now.
Madame Web May Have Been The Death Of The SSU
To Roberts' point, the SSU has long struggled to overcome being the target of memes going back to the franchise’s start. The firstVenommovie’s “like a turd in the wind line” quickly became a viral meme, whilethe Jared Leto-ledMorbiusalso saw everything from its Venom reference to the creation of the “It’s Morbin' Time” meme. The latter’s viral nature even led to Sony re-releasing the movie in theaters in the hopes of boosting its struggling box office, only for it to perform even worse than in its initial release.
Marvel Finally Made A More Memeable Movie Than Morbius
Madame Web challenges Morbius' ability to spawn viral memes with its awkward dialog, questionable performances, meager plot, and poor reception.
ThoughMorbiuswas initially deemed as the lowest bar set for the SSU,Madame Webmanaged to lower the bareven further, both with critics and at the box office. At the time of writing, the movie holds an 11% approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, the worst superhero score since 2015’sFantastic Fourreboot, and an underwhelming 57% score from audiences. Its box office didn’t fare much better, bringing in just over $100 million against its reported $100 million production budget. See howMadame Web’s performance compared to other SSU movies below:
30%
80%
57%
84%
15%
71%
11%
$100.3 Million
With the movie continuing the downward trend for the franchise, it seems possible thatMadame Webhas put the final nail in the SSU’s coffin. The studio has already begun quietly cancelling planned projects, and Johnson herself has indicated a lack of interest in a superhero genre return following the response to the movie. ThoughVenom: The Last Dance’s releasecould still turn things around for the franchise, the fact that it’s meant to close out the Tom Hardy-led trilogy may be the sign Sony is gearing up to put the SSU behind them.
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.
