Dakota Johnson has spoken out about the failure of her 2024 superhero movieMadame Web, saying the film’s problems were not her fault. The actress, who is now promoting her upcoming romantic comedy Materialists, shared her thoughts on why the Sony Pictures project didn’t work.
Johnson starred as Cassandra Webb in Madame Web, a Spider-Man spinoff that received poor reviews and performed badly at the box office. The movie also won multiple Razzie Awards, including Worst Picture and Worst Actress for Johnson. When asked about the film’s failure, she pointed to creative issues behind the scenes.
“It wasn’t my fault,” Johnson said with a laugh during an interview with the Los Angeles Times. “There’s this thing that happens now where a lot of creative decisions are made by committee. Or made by people who don’t have a creative bone in their body. And it’s really hard to make art that way.”
She explained that Madame Web changed significantly during production. “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,” she said. Despite the movie’s poor reception, Johnson isn’t letting it affect her career choices.
“I don’t have a Band-Aid over it,” she said. “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?”
Madame Web followed Johnson’s character, a paramedic who gains psychic abilities and tries to protect three young women connected to Spider-Man’s future. The film also starred Sydney Sweeney, Isabela Merced, and Tahar Rahim but failed to impress critics or audiences.
Johnson is now focusing on her new movie Materialists, a romantic comedy directed by Celine Song. She plays a New York City matchmaker caught between an ex-boyfriend (Chris Evans) and a new love interest (Pedro Pascal). Johnson praised Song’s writing, saying it has the heart and soul missing from many modern rom-coms.
“I think a lot of what I read these days is void of soul and heart, and [Song] is all soul and heart,” Johnson said. “I really love a rom-com if it feels like I can connect to the people in it. And I think I’ve found it hard to connect to the people in some of the ones that I’ve been offered.”
Materialists releases in theaters on June 13. Meanwhile, Johnson remains unfazed by Madame Web‘s failure, showing she’s ready to move on to new projects.
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