Madame Web Sets Marvel Record Low, Repeats Awful Fantastic Four Opening
Things continue to proceed somewhat disappointingly for Marvel. Madame Web continues to stumble at the box office. The film’s debut marks a significant downturn for what has been the typically dominant Marvel brand, opening to a lackluster $25.8 million across the United States over its six day premiere week. Even worse, the movie garnered an almost identically dismal $25.7 million worldwide. Not only does this represent the lowest earnings of any Sony Marvel film opening to date, it marks the first time since the 2015 debut of Fantastic Four that a Marvel property opened south of number one.
A Marvel Low
Make no mistake: it should worry everyone involved in the production of Web that Marvel fans and movie critics are comparing it to Fantastic Four. After all, the latter film sports a notorious nine percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes; combined with its horrendous financial performance, the comparison between Four and Web illustrates the scale and scope of the recent Marvel venture’s many problems.
Not only did the disappointing opening attract comparisons to Fantastic Four, but the Spider-Verse project failed to compete with the Bob Marley biopic, One Love, which captured the top spot by earning a sizable $51 million in the US alone.
Even Morbius Beat Madame Web
For further perspective on Madame Web’s woeful debut, consider that 2022’s Morbius, another Sony Marvel film absolutely savaged by critics—and to this day a symbol of cinematic disaster—nonetheless managed to secure $39.1 million domestically in its opening weekend.
It all paints a bleak picture for Marvel, particularly given that Web’s production budget neared $80 million. To justify its own bloated financing and achieve profitability, the film faces a steep hill.
The Film
Madame Web stars Dakota Johnson, who many might know from the Fifty Shades series, who plays Cassie Webb, a New York City paramedic empowered with the ability to see in the future. Johnson’s co-stars include Sydney Sweeney, of The White Lotus, and Isabela Merced. S.J Clarkson, who earned admiration for her work on Jessica Jones, directed the film.
The Premise Showed Potential
Superhero fans were probably open to Madame Web upon arriving in theatres. It’s premise, to be fair, is intriguing–involving Web’s contending with her visions of the future (an interesting superpower, especially in the Spider-Man universe) and the compelling antagonist in Ezekiel Slims.
In Spite Of Its Promise, Madame Web Failed
Despite the star-studded cast, and the celebrated director, the film evidently struggled to resonate with audiences and critics alike. Mirroring the dreadful critical reception of Fantastic Four, the film has a disastrous 12 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
That said, if the critical reception and subpar box office performance indicate anything, the project missed the mark and fell short of capturing the magic so often, in the past, surrounding Marvel releases.
