Dakota Johnson has opened up about the commercial and critical failure of the superhero movie Madame Web, saying that she will probably “never do something like it again”.
The actor played the lead in Sony’s latest attempt to open up the Spider-Man universe which was met with negative reviews and disappointing box office. The film has a 12% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and has made just $91m worldwide on an estimated production budget of $80m.
In an interview with Bustle, the actor was asked if she was bothered when people write “nasty” reviews. “Unfortunately, I’m not surprised that this has gone down the way it has,” she responded.
In a review for the Chicago Sun-Times, Richard Roeper called it “one of the worst comic book movies I’ve ever seen” while Rolling Stone’s David Fear called it “the Cats: The Movie of superhero movies”.
“I had never done anything like it before,” Johnson said. “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? But it was a real learning experience, and 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.”
Johnson also joked about how her comments would be portrayed. “Like, ‘Dakota Johnson Breaks Her Silence On Madame Web’s Fucking Box Office Failure,’” she said. “It’s like, ‘No, I’m not breaking any silence. I’m just talking.’”
The film had been primed to start a new franchise of its own but according to the Hollywood Reporter, Sony executives were feeling “gloomy” after the failure. The studio is hoping its next collaboration with Marvel, the Aaron Taylor-Johnson-led Kraven the Hunter, out in August, will fare better.
The underwhelming response to Madame Web marks the latest superhero disaster after disappointing reviews and audience interest for Shazam 2, The Marvels and The Flash.
Johnson will next be seen in two-person drama Daddio alongside Sean Penn and is set to lead Celine Song’s follow-up to Past Lives, the romantic comedy The Materialists.
