Madame Web flopped with critics and with audience. Its star is not surprised.
In a new interview, Dakota Johnson said the poor reviews for her Spider-Man spinoff — which currently has a 12 percent on Rotten Tomatoes — were not unexpected, at least by her.
“Unfortunately, I’m not surprised that this has gone down the way it has,” Johnson told Bustle. “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 bulls—.”
The implication there, as it relates to Madame Web … is refreshingly candid!
READ MORE: Madame Web Reuses an Old Shot from Spider-Man 2
Johnson also claimed that “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?”
She added that she “probably will never do anything like [Madame Web] again because I don’t make sense in that world.”
In the film, Johnson plays the title character — sort of, no one ever actually calls her Madame Web — a New York City EMT (who works with Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben in the early 2000s for some reason?) who discovers she has clairvoyant abilities after surviving a near-death experience. She then has to protect three other future Spider-Women from an evil Spider-Man named Ezekiel who wants to kill them. Quite simply, the film was a total mess.
Johnson noted that Madame Web 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.” Again: Extremely honest! As someone who suffered through Madame Web, I sincerely appreciate that.
Madame Web is still in theaters … although probably not for too much longer.
Every Spider-Man and Spinoff Movie Ranked
All of Sony’s Spider-Man movies (plus their spinoffs), ranked from the worst to the best.
Gallery Credit: Matt Singer
