It's probably fair to say that Madame Web always had a pretty steep hill to climb after becoming meme-fodder immediately after the release of its first (and only) trailer, but right from the opening scene with Cassie Webb's (Dakota Johnson) mother in the Amazon researching spiders just before she died, it seemed clear that Sony Pictures' latest SSU movie was most likely not going to be a massive hit!
To be fair, the movie did end up surpassing (just about) the $100 million mark worldwide, but with a reported budget of around $80 - $100 million (not factoring in additional advertising costs, etc), and an abysmal 11% on Rotten Tomatoes, we can't imagine seeing much more from Miss Web and her teenage Spider-Women pals anytime soon.
Some felt the movie wasn't quite as bad as it was made out to be, while others were of the opinion that it crossed into so bad it's good territory, and a few even loved it... apparently.
During an interview with Variety, Emma Roberts - who played Peter Parker's mother in what amounted to little more than a cameo - was asked about Madame Web's negative reception, and she believes the movie would have been better-received if not for "internet culture."
"Things work; things don’t work. Everyone likes to act like they can predict if they’re going to work or they’re not. And the truth is, you can’t. Things do badly, and then they blow up later on TikTok. Things do well, but then you watch them, and you’re like, 'This did well?' There is no secret. It’s about doing something goodish and it hitting at the right time. Everything else is like a wish and a prayer. I’m not intimidated by failure, and I’m not intimidated by people having negative thoughts about something."
"I personally really loved Madame Web," she continued. "I really enjoyed the movie. I thought everyone in it was great. The director, S.J. Clarkson, I think did an amazing job. She’s the reason I wanted to do that movie. If it wasn’t for internet culture and everything being made into a joke, I think that the reception would’ve been different. And that’s what bums me out about a lot of stuff, even stuff that I’ve done, is people just make such a joke out of everything now."
Would more people have gone to see Madame Web if people didn't take the piss out of it so much? It's certainly... a theory! What do you make of Roberts' comments?
"Meanwhile, in another universe...' reads the official synopsis, "In a switch from the typical genre, Madame Web tells the standalone origin story of one of Marvel publishing's most enigmatic heroines." "The suspense-driven thriller stars Dakota Johnson as Cassandra Webb, a paramedic in Manhattan who may have clairvoyant abilities. Forced to confront revelations about her past, she forges a relationship with three young women destined for powerful futures...if they can all survive a deadly present."
Johnson stars as the clairvoyant Cassandra Webb, who uses her abilities to save a group of young woman, played by Sydney Sweeney, Isabela Merced, and Celeste O’Connor, from a villainous Spider-Man lookalike known as Ezekiel Simms.
The girls Webb is doing her best to keep safe, Julia Carpenter, Mattie Franklin and Anya Corazón, are all destined to become heroes with Spider-like powers of their own, and Simms is targetting them because of what they do to him in the future.
S.J. Clarkson, who also helmed Marvel’s Jessica Jones and The Defenders, directs from a script by Matt Sazama, Kerem Sazama and Burk Sharpless. Adam Merims executive produced.