‘Madame Web’ has not been warmly received, with many critics labeling it as one of the weaker superhero films of late. Dakota Johnson, portraying a New York paramedic with psychic abilities, noted that the original script she saw was quite different from what ended up being filmed and shown to viewers.
She humorously mentioned to The Wrap:
“There were drastic changes [made to the script], and I can’t even tell you what they were.”
This revelation suggests two possibilities: either S.J. Clarkson, Matt Sazama, Burk Sharpless, and Claire Parker changed the ‘Madame Web’ script as it neared production due to creators doubting their initial vision, or the project was greenlit with a script that was less favorable than the one currently under criticism.
The Actress Accepted The Project After Reading The Script
Johnson previously expressed excitement and admiration for the Marvel project, saying she found Cassandra Web and her story ‘sexy.’ Later, the actress also mentioned doubts about some parts of the film, telling Entertainment Weekly:
“I’ve never really done a movie where you are on a blue screen, and there’s fake explosions going off, and someone’s going, ‘Explosion!’ and you act like there’s an explosion. That, to me, was absolutely psychotic.”
She added:
“I was like, ‘I don’t know if this is going to be good at all! I hope that I did an okay job!’ But I trusted [Clarkson]. She works so hard, and she has not taken her eyes off this movie since we started.”
‘Madame Web’ Is A Box Office Failure
While Johnson’s performance has been mostly spared of backlash, the film itself has not been so lucky. Critics have blasted ‘Madame Web’ for its screenplay, special effects, and direction, leading to a 17 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Some of the movie’s reviews described it as a ‘Chernobyl-level disaster’ and ’a new low for superhero debacles.’
Opening to modest expectations, ‘Madame Web’ is expected to earn around $25 million over its six-day weekend debut. This figure is notably less than half of what another Marvel cinematic universe disappointment, ‘The Marvels,’ managed to rake in during its opening.
With a production budget of $80 million, the film’s financial outlook is still up in the air, leaving industry watchers and fans curious about its future performance.
