Madame Web Sets Another Unfortunate Marvel Record Dating Back to 2015’s Fantastic Four

Madame Web is now in theaters, but it’s numbers have been less captivating, leading to it breaking an unfortunate record set by 2015’s Fantastic Four.

Madame Web is part of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe and follows the character from the comic books. However, there are several changes from the comics, as the Dakota Johnson-led film doesn’t feature an older character who is blind and paralyzed, but a strong, 30-something paramedic from NYC. The two do, however, share clairvoyant powers. However, Madame Web wasn’t able to entrap the audience or the critics, and has just beaten a bleak record set by 2015’s Fantastic Four (stylized as Fant4astic), as it failed to open at number one at the box office (via IGN).

Madame Web hit theaters on Valentine’s Day, and it failed to reach number one. The film grossed a total of $25.8 million over the first six days including Valentine’s Day and President’s Day, right between the estimated box office projections. Instead, the top spot was secured by Paramount’s biopic, Bob Marley: One Love, which exceeded expectations with a $51 million six-day opening. The fact that lead actress Dakota Johnson surprisingly admitted that she didn’t see the film didn’t help. “I haven’t actually seen the movie,” Johnson revealed. “I probably won’t… I don’t know when I’ll see it. Someday.” She went on to justify that she doesn’t usually watch her own movies, but it’s not a good thing for Madame Web.

Madame Web‘s disappointing box office numbers set an all-time low for Sony’s Marvel-based movies. The last time Marvel films did so poorly was in 2015 with Fant4stic, which opened with $26.2 million in the U.S. The film wasn’t able to beat Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation.

Madame Web wasn’t a hit at the box office, but it didn’t blow away the critics either. The film set two unfortunate records when it comes to its Rotten Tomatoes score, as well. The film boasts a 13% score from the critics on the website, which is Sony’s Spider-Man Universe’s lowest score — even worse than 2022’s Morbius, which has a rating of 15%, and, despite the memes, the audiences enjoyed the Jared Leto-led film.

However, Madame Web didn’t have such luck. Unlike the 2022 film, the female-led superhero movie set a new low on Rotten Tomatoes when it comes to its audience score, too. The S.J. Clarkson-directed film has a 54% rating, the only SSU film that earned a “rotten” rating from its audience.

Madame Web had a budget of between $80 and $100 million, which means it might take superhero abilities for it to earn back its investment. On top of that, marketing costs generally double the budget, which means Madame Web might not even be able to break even, let alone make a profit. Worldwide, the current estimate for the film’s box office is $51.1 million.

Madame Web is currently out in theaters.

Source: IGN