Sony's “Madame Web” is one of the biggest flops in the history of comic book films. The Dakota Johnson-directed film “Tentpole” has only grossed $40 million at the domestic box office so far, and even after three weekends of release, its worldwide box office is still under the $100 million mark. Critics also criticized the film (it has a score of 12% on Rotten Tomatoes from 225 reviews). For its star, Dakota Johnson, the reception to “Madame Web” came as no shock.
“Unfortunately, it doesn't surprise me that it turned out this way,” she told Bustle in a new interview.
“Is there a reason for this?” the publication asked her.
“It's so hard to make films, and these big films that are made – and this happens even with the little ones, which really upsets me – decisions are made by committee and the art doesn't go well. “If it's done by committee,” Johnson replied. “Films are made by a filmmaker and a team of artists around him. You can't make art based on numbers and algorithms. I had long felt that the audience was extremely smart, and the executives began to believe that this was not the case. The audience will always be able to sense nonsense. Even if movies are made with AI, people sure as hell won't want to watch them.
“But it was definitely an experience for me making this film,” Johnson continued. “I had never done anything like this before. I'll probably never do anything like that again because I make no sense in this world. And I know that now. But sometimes in this industry you sign something and it's one thing and then when you do 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 part of something that’s been torn to pieces, but I can’t say I don’t understand it.”
Set in Sony's Spider-Man universe, “Madame Web” 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 into 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 outspoken about the current state of Hollywood. She told L'Officiel that getting films made these days is “extremely daunting.”
“The people who run streaming platforms don’t trust creators or artists to know what’s going to work, and that’s just going to cause us to implode,” she said. “It's really heartbreaking. It's just damn hard. It's so hard to make something. All the things I want to do are really different, unique and very forward-thinking in everything they are.”
“Madame Web” is still playing in theaters nationwide from Sony. Visit Bustle's website to read Johnson's latest profile in full.