Dakota Johnson Opens Up About Who's To Blame For Marvel's ‘Madame Web' Failure
In an interview with The Los Angeles Times this week, Johnson said the film's failure 'wasn't my fault' and was, instead, due to 'a lot of creative decisions' made by 'people who don't have a creative bone in their body.'
'It's really hard to make art that way. Or to make something entertaining that way,' she explained. 'And I think unfortunately with 'Madame Web,' it started out as something and turned into something else. And I was just sort of along for the ride at that point. But that happens. Bigger-budget movies fail all the time.'
Directed by S.J. Clarkson, 'Madame Web' stars Johnson as Cassandra Webb, a paramedic whose brush with death awakens dormant psychic powers. In addition to Johnson, the film features an all-star supporting cast, which includes Emma Roberts, Adam Scott and Sydney Sweeney.
Reviews for 'Madame Web' were largely negative, with The Hollywood Reporter calling it 'an airless and stilted endeavor driven by a mechanical screenplay.'
The film reportedly cost about $80 million to produce but raked in a measly $25.8 million in its opening week, making it the lowest box office opening in the history of Sony's 'Spider-Man' franchise.
Johnson, who returns to the big screen in the romantic comedy 'The Materialists,' has previously hinted at her frustrations with 'Madame Web.'
'Unfortunately, I'm not surprised that this has gone down the way it has,' she told Bustle in March of last year, shortly after the film was released. '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?' she added at the time. '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 offered a more pragmatic take on the situation in her Los Angeles Times chat, telling the outlet: 'There's no part of me that's like, 'Oh, I'll never do that again' to anything. I've done even tiny movies that didn't do well. Who cares?'
Fortunately for Johnson, early buzz on 'The Materialists' ― which also stars Chris Evans and Pedro Pascal ― has been positive. Critics who have screened the movie thus far have called it 'a brutally realistic and beautiful examination of love,' while praising Johnson as 'a perfect imperfect protagonist.'
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