Madame Web Bomb has dashed Sony’s hopes for a franchise – The Hollywood Reporter

“Madame Web”

Colombia Pictures

Trailer noise was alarming, and advance ticket sales were poor. Then last week, the critic reviews for Madame Web It was published, and it was the most profoundly influential of all — Sony’s Spider-Man film had the lowest average score on Rotten Tomatoes (13 percent) of any major superhero film in nearly a decade.

“On Wednesday night, you could actually see pre-purchase sales declining in real time as buyers were refunding their tickets,” asks a large theater chain insider. “It really says something when you prefer it Shazam! 2 Preparation.”

It was one of the lowest-profile starts in Hollywood history for a film based on a Marvel character. The domestic box office for its first six days in North America was just $26.2 million after its midweek opening on Valentine’s Day. The international grossed $25.7 million from 61 markets. Even its fan-friendly CinemaScore was poor (C+ — very low for a superhero title).

Like the once unstoppable DC and Marvel, Sony now finds itself under pressure to reevaluate how comic book movies are made.

Sony’s previous Spider-Man universe movie — 2022 Morbius – It was a critical bust and was insulted by fans online, but it at least managed to earn $170 million worldwide. There is no such hope for Madame Web. Plus, The collapse of the feature affects not only this film, but a potential new franchise led by star Dakota Johnson that Sony was hoping to popularize (spoiler alert: her character is related to Peter Parker, whose birth is documented in the film).

The film introduced a trio of supporting characters (played by Isabella Merced, Celeste O’Connor, and Sydney Sweeney – now one of the top stars of her age). He created a future in which the three could become a team of Spider-Women under Johnson’s Cassie Webb. Now that won’t happen.

“We won’t see another Madame Web “A movie for another decade or more,” quipped one industry veteran. “It failed. Sony was trying to make a movie that was a different kind of superhero movie.

Madame Web It joins a worrying trend for the superhero genre. All live-action comic book movies last year performed poorly (except Marvel Studios) Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3), regardless of the studio. “Superhero fatigue” has evolved from a term used by some corners of the fandom to something that has been reluctantly accepted as fact in the industry. It comes at a time when Marvel, DC, and Sony are trying the difficult work of creating new franchises.

So Madame Web — directed by S.J. Clarkson, co-written by and starring Johnson as a New York paramedic who develops psychic powers — seems to have taken a wise approach: When there are capes and hoods on every corner of the city, doesn’t it make sense to avoid the usual tropes and try to have a more grounded thriller with Simple magic? Furthermore, are you making a superhero movie for women and girls?

But it didn’t work.

“I don’t know if women are enough to generate box office revenue here,” says one veteran studio source outside Sony. In fact, 65% to 70% of the North American superhero audience is male. In case Madame WebWhile the percentage of female viewers remained only 46 percent.

“We’re going through a transition when it comes to superhero movies,” the insider notes. “I don’t know how big that shift is or what the other side looks like. There may be fewer movies, but the brands are bigger. Sony is willing to take some risk but also wants home runs — and that’s a good thing. And if (the next Spider-Man Universe title from sony) Craven Be a massive hit, and the narrative could be very different. So it’s too early to know the outcome.”

The current mood at Sony Group is bleak, says an insider. To be sure, the studio has had notable wins under film boss Tom Rothman, including an Oscar nominee Spider verse Series and live action Poison (the third Poison, starring Tom Hardy, is scheduled for release on November 8). Rothman is known for keeping a close eye on budgets and this has been widely reported Madame Web At a cost of $80 million, but the actual number is in the $100 million range, according to several sources. However, this is far less than the $200-$300 million that Marvel or DC routinely spend.

It is interesting that some Madame Web Reviewers earnestly assert that the film could eventually find a second life as a camp classic (the film). Los Angeles Times He praised it as “the purest form of camp” and Slate exclaimed, “It’s a farce and a disaster…and I enjoyed it immensely.” While such indirect compliments are no consolation to Sony, there’s an argument to be made that if you’re going to fail, you might as well fail in a big way. Because there’s actually something worse than a movie not working: being forgettable.