Dakota Johnson’s new superhero film “Madame Net” tanked on the field workplace final week and was overwhelmingly panned by critics.
Within the movie, the 34-year-old actress performed the titular character of Cassandra Webb/Madame Net, a clairvoyant paramedic linked to the long-lasting superhero Spider-Man. “Madame Net” earned solely $26.2 million over the six-day vacation weekend from its premiere on Valentine’s Day to Presidents Day, per Selection.
“Madame Net’s” debut marked the bottom opening for any movie within the Sony Spider-Man universe and one of many worst begins for any film primarily based on a Marvel Comics character. The film was met with an onslaught of damaging critiques and at the moment holds an abysmal 13% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with an underwhelming 55% viewers rating.
The movie’s implosion comes after its star, Johnson, usually appeared notably disinterested and dismissive of the film and the superhero style normally throughout a promotional tour that some social media customers described as “unhinged.”
Followers of Johnson are conversant in the “Fifty Shades of Gray” star expressing her trademark candor and dry humorousness throughout interviews, together with her famously awkward alternate with Ellen DeGeneres on the host’s now-defunct speak present in 2019.
Since kicking off the press tour for “Madame Net,” Johnson has garnered consideration for her blunt remarks concerning the movie.
Throughout an look on Magic FM earlier this week, Johnson revealed that she “hadn’t really seen” “Madame Net.” The actress added that she tends to sneak out the backdoor at her film premieres and “go to have dinner.”
“I most likely gained’t – I don’t know after I’ll see it,” Johnson mentioned of “Madame Net.”
“Sometime,” she added vaguely. Johnson went on to say that she hardly ever watches her personal motion pictures. “I don’t wish to,” she mentioned.
“For me, it’s a method to not have, like, an existential disaster,” Johnson continued. “Not watching my motion pictures is like self-care.”
In the meantime, in an MTV interview, host Josh Horowitz famous that there was a scene within the film through which Johnson’s character dies for 3 minutes.
After Johnson appeared confused, Horowitz requested, “Do you keep in mind that?”
“She does? I haven’t seen the film,” Johnson mentioned. “You can be proper.”
Throughout her press tour, Johnson additionally raised eyebrows with feedback that she made about working along with her youthful co-stars.
In “Madame Net,” Johnson’s character Cassandra “Cassie” is a paramedic working in New York Metropolis alongside Benjamin “Ben” Parker, the uncle of Peter Parker/Spider-Man. After a near-death expertise, Cassandra begins to develop clairvoyant talents and turns into drawn to guard a trio of younger ladies, Julia Cornwall (Sydney Sweeney), Anya Corazon (Isabela Merced) and Mattie Franklin (Celeste O’Connor), who’ve been focused by the antagonist Ezekiel Sims (Tahar Rahim).
“I like them, they usually annoy me, and I like them,” she joked to “Late Evening” host Seth Myers final week.
She confirmed she meant she was irritated on a “generational stage,” telling Myers “on a regular basis, each second of the day” after he requested when Sweeney, 26, O’Connor, 25, and Merced, 22, made her really feel the oldest.
“I’m not that a lot older than them,” Dakota protested.
She additionally joked to E! Information that the Gen Z co-stars have excluded her from a bunch textual content chat, which she quipped is “actually” as a result of she is a millennial.
“I’m older than them, they usually guarantee that I’m conscious of that,” she informed the outlet.
The three admitted to E! Information they’ve a non-public chat group referred to as “The Boo Crew,” which is a reference to their “Madame Net” characters, however it’s not a mirrored image on how they really feel about Johnson, who they mentioned offers them “huge sister” vibes.
Nevertheless, throughout a latest look on MTV UK, the three actresses joked about bonding over Johnson ignoring their textual content messages.
“Dakota undoubtedly left me on learn,” O’Connor mentioned. “Dakota doesn’t reply to me,” Sweeney added. “By no means!” O’Connor mentioned with amusing. “It’s been two years,” Merced chimed in.
“Been on learn for 2 years,” O’Connor mentioned whereas laughing. “We test often,” Sweeney famous.
Whereas some have argued that Johnson’s unconventional press tour hasn’t finished “Madame Net” any favors, plenty of followers have discovered the actress’ “unhinged” and “chaotic” antics entertaining and praised her deadpan humor and forthrightness.
“Studying all of the Madame Net tweets and I kinda wish to see it. I coronary heart Dakota Johnson, her vibe is somewhat chaotic,” one fan wrote on X.
“each unhinged interview that Dakota Johnson offers makes me wish to see Madame Net much more,” one other social media consumer enthused.
Public relations skilled Doug Eldridge of Achilles PR weighed in on whether or not Johnson’s press tour had finally contributed to the failure of “Madame Net.”
“The shortage of vital and industrial success of this movie doesn’t fall squarely on Dakota’s shoulders,” Eldridge informed Fox Information Digital. “There’s a latest string of superhero motion pictures, which have fallen flat on the field workplace for causes past mere PR missteps by their stars.”
He continued, “The Rock [actor Dwayne Johnson] is arguably the biggest draw on the worldwide field workplace, but ‘Black Adam’ was lifeless on arrival. Equally, in an ever-expanding superhero lexicon, ‘Captain Marvel,’ ‘Morbius,’ and ‘Blood Shot’ are only a few of the titles which by no means discovered their foothold, as the marketplace for capes and tights is getting more and more crowded and fewer interesting to the broader viewing viewers.”
“That mentioned, stars play a major position within the media rollout of any movie, however they’re just one piece of the bigger puzzle,” Eldridge added. “As an illustration, the studios have a advertising and marketing price range for every movie; summer time blockbusters or Pixar movies are sometimes paired with quick meals manufacturers, to drive consciousness and demand for the ‘household ticket.’”
“Moreover, there’s the distribution aspect, that means what number of theaters the film will seem in throughout america. Lastly, there’s the media or press junket, which precedes the opening. In spite of everything of this, there’s the fan response and ‘formal critiques’ from critics. Every is necessary in its personal proper and the very last thing you need is your star stepping on the message. In sports activities, we’d name this an unforced error.”
Eldridge emphasised that press excursions can have a major impression on a film’s success in some instances, citing the backlash that Rachel Zegler acquired after her criticisms of the supply materials behind her upcoming Disney movie “Snow White.”
“Press excursions are vital in Hollywood, because it not solely drums up curiosity in varied markets – each home and worldwide – however it helps drive the preliminary wave of ticket purchases,” Eldrige mentioned.
He continued, “The impetus doesn’t simply fall on the studios, however on the celebs as properly, particularly given the brand new Hollywood mannequin of back-end gross as a method of compensating stars, in comparison with the usual, upfront, $20M paycheck within the ‘90s and early ’00s. Two nice examples of this are Tom Cruise and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson. Not solely are they the 2 hardest working guys in Hollywood, however they’re additionally well-known for his or her all-out strategy to the press and publicity tour as their movies open world wide. This can be a huge draw for followers and helps create the vital buzz for the preliminary stage of tickets buys.”
“For context on the significance of press excursions and media junkets, look no additional than the ‘failure to launch’ standing surrounding the latest Snow White remake,” he added. “Rachel Zegler, who performs the titular position, had a sequence of off-putting feedback relating to the long-lasting character and the necessity to not solely remake the film, however in so doing, rewrite the underlying premise, primarily based on present social mores.”
“Her feedback drew instant and well-deserved blowback from followers and critics alike, which put Disney within the awkward place of getting to delay manufacturing and purportedly reshoot a lot of the movie altogether. Whereas it’s up for debate whether or not the movie would have been successful in its preliminary reboot, the PR torpedo unquestionably sunk the movie in its present format.”
“Madame Net’s” field workplace collapse has additionally apparently quashed Sony Photos’ hopes for a Johnson-led franchise, although the actress informed Whole Movie that she would “undoubtedly” return for a sequel if requested.
“We’re not going to see one other ‘Madame Net’ film for an additional decade-plus,” one business insider informed The Hollywood Reporter. “It failed. Sony tried to make a film that was a distinct kind of superhero film.”
Eric Schiffer, chairman of Fame Administration Consultants, informed Fox Information Digital, “Madame Net’s premiere spanned a number of days with early abysmal critiques. A optimistic press tour can’t save a catastrophe of a film. When you watch most Dakota Johnson interviews, she’s deadpan, straight to the purpose. Her demeanor and persona didn’t trigger ‘Madame Net’’s epic flop opening weekend and rankings.”
Schiffer famous, “Sony is hellbent on making their cinematic Marvel universe come to life however continues to fail enormously with its different characters like Morbius and Venom, which have been whole flops. Critics and Marvel followers weren’t anticipating something totally different with ‘Madame Net.’”
“‘Madame Net’ is ready to be the worst film of 2024, however many individuals suppose it’s one of many worst motion pictures of all time. On the finish of the day, ‘Madame Net’ failed as a result of it sucks,” he added.
Fox Information Digital’s Brie Stimson contributed to this report.