Dakota Johnson is finally addressing the controversy surrounding her superhero debut in Sony Pictures’ Madame Web (2024), and from the sounds of it, she’s blaming its historic failure on studio executives, accusing them of “[making] art based on numbers and algorithms.”
Related: Sydney Sweeney Mocks Disastrous ‘Madame Web’ on Live TV
The superhero genre has come under fire in recent years, and it seems like no studio is safe. From Disney and Marvel Studios’ corner to Warner Bros. and DC Studios, blockbusters like The Marvels (2023) and Black Adam (2022) flopped both commercially and critically, losing millions of dollars — and fans’ loyalty — in the process.
Now, the latest victim of this aptly dubbed “superhero fatigue” is director S.J. Clarkson’s Madame Web, the newest addition to Sony’s Spider-Man Universe (SSU). Unlike its predecessors, namely, Venom (2018) and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023), the spidey flick failed to earn back its production budget, grossing just $83.9 million worldwide.
Related: Iconic Spider-Man Characters Revived in ‘Madame Web’
Sitting at a 13% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s safe to say that Madame Web, which stars Dakota Johnson, Tahar Rahim, Sydney Sweeney, Isabela Merced, and Celeste O’Connor, wasn’t exactly a home run with critics. Even Johnson, who plays the titular EMT-turned-clairvoyant, Cassie Webb, seemed skeptical from the get-go, not so subtly shading the film throughout the press tour.
After being publicly mocked by its main cast members, ridiculed on social media, and made into an instant meme online, Johnson is finally breaking her silence on audiences’ poor reactions to Madame Web. And it seems like the upper echelon at Sony is to blame for its downfall.
Speaking with Bustle, Johnson admitted that the past few weeks have been “weird” for her coming off the release of Madame Web. The actress revealed that she’d been fighting pneumonia since the LA premiere, adding, “And then the movie came out and it was… [Pauses.] Like, I can’t take any of it seriously at all. I dunno.”
It’s long been speculated that Johnson and potentially other members of the Madame Web ensemble had been misled into thinking that they’d signed onto an MCU project that would see them fighting alongside Tom Holland’s Peter Parker, though clearly, that wasn’t the case.
In fact, many reports have come out saying the original script for Madame Web would’ve been a different story entirely, which Johnson seems to have confirmed. Studio interference has long been an issue in Hollywood, especially with MCU, DCU, and now, SSU productions.
During the interview, Johnson asserted that “Films are made by a filmmaker and a team of artists around them,” adding that she was “not surprised that this has gone down the way it has,” implying that Madame Web was subject to some pretty extensive last-minute changes:
It’s so hard to get movies made, and in these big movies that get made — and it’s even starting to happen with the little ones, which is what’s really freaking me out — decisions are being made by committees, and art does not do well when it’s made by committee. Films are made by a filmmaker and a team of artists around them.
The actress also had some pretty strong words for the bleak state of the entertainment industry today, especially as artists grapple with the threat of AI, saying, “Audiences will always be able to sniff out bullsh*t” and suggesting that studio executives are only focused on profits:
You cannot make art based on numbers and algorithms. My feeling has been for a long time that audiences are extremely smart, and executives have started to believe that they’re not. Audiences will always be able to sniff out bullsh*t. Even if films start to be made with AI, humans aren’t going to f*cking want to see those.
Although Johnson remained pretty cordial about her experience filming Madame Web, it sounds like she’s not jumping at the opportunity to reprise her role anytime soon. She explained that she will probably “never do anything like it again” because she “[doesn’t make sense in that world,” perhaps alluding to her usual roles in more grounded dramas:
But it was definitely an experience for me to make that movie. I had never done anything like it before. I probably will never do anything like it again because I don’t make sense in that world. And I know that now. But sometimes in this industry, you sign on to something, and it’s one thing and then as you’re making it, it becomes a completely different thing, and you’re like, ‘Wait, what?'”
Still, Johnson was able to find the silver lining amid all the backlash, calling her foray into the superhero genre with Madame Web “a real learning experience.” She concluded by saying, “Of course it’s not nice to be a part of something that’s ripped to shreds, but I can’t say that I don’t understand.”
It’s pretty damning to hear the A-list star of a production as buzz-worthy as Madame Web flat-out admitting that she thinks the movie failed due to corporate greed — and many people seem to agree with her assessment. Online, many users are rallying behind Johnson, claiming that she hit the nail on the head with her remarks, so to speak.
Dakota Johnson saying what literally every actor and audience viewer have been saying for nearly a decade now. I hope these bombs wake up production studios, but I just know it won’t.
Dakota Johnson saying what literally every actor and audience viewer have been saying for nearly a decade now. I hope these bombs wake up production studios, but I just know it won’t. 🙃
— StaticFox64 (@StaticFox64) March 5, 2024
It’s important to note that Madame Web underwent many last-minute changes and reshoots, with Claire Parker and SJ Clarkson rewriting Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless’ original script. While this isn’t exactly a rarity for big-budget Hollywood blockbusters these days, it does show that Madame Web was filled with uncertainty from the start, and it’s hard to say who exactly is to blame.
Well, it’s highly doubtful that we’ll see Dakota Johnson and Sydney Sweeney revisit the SSU down the line. Still, at the very least, moviegoers got a memorable experience out of seeing Madame Web.
Madame Web is currently playing in theaters.
Do you think Madame Web is deserving of all the hate? Is Dakota Johnson right? Let us know in the comments below!