Sony’s “Madame Web” is one of the biggest flops in comic book movie history. The Dakota Johnson-led tentpole has only grossed $40 million so far at the domestic box office, and its worldwide gross remains under the $100 million mark after three weekends of release. Critics also eviscerated the film (it boasts a 12% score on Rotten Tomatoes from 225 reviews).
For its star, the reception to “Madame Web” did not come as a shock.
“Unfortunately, I’m not surprised that this has gone down the way it has,” Johnson told Bustle in a new interview.
“Is there a reason for that?,” the publication asked her.
“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,” Johnson answered.
“Films are made by a filmmaker and a team of artists around them,” she said. “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—. Even if films start to be made with AI, humans aren’t going to fucking want to see those.
“But it was definitely an experience for me to make that movie,” Johnson continued. “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? 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.”
“Madame Web” is set in Sony’s Spider-Man universe and stars Johnson as Cassandra Webb, a paramedic who gains the ability to see the future after a near-death experience. Her newfound power brings her in contact with three young girls (Sydney Sweeney, Isabela Merced and Celeste O’Connor) who are being hunted by an evil explorer.
During her “Madame Web” press tour, Johnson was often blunt when talking about the current state of Hollywood. She told L’Officiel that it is “majorly disheartening” to try and get movies made nowadays.
“The people who run streaming platforms don’t trust creative people or artists to know what’s going to work, and that is just going to make us implode,” she said. “It’s really heartbreaking. It’s just fucking so hard. It’s so hard to get anything made. All of the stuff I’m interested in making is really different, and it’s unique and it’s very forward in whatever it is.”
“Madame Web” is still playing in theaters nationwide from Sony. Head over to Bustle’s website to read Johnson’s latest profile in its entirety.
