Emma Roberts has shared her take on the disappointing reception Madame Web received.
The American Horror Story star played Mary Parker in the 2024 superhero movie, which featured Dakota Johnson in the titular role alongside a cast that also included Sydney Sweeney, Adam Scott and Zosia Mamet.
While Madame Web wasn’t exactly a hit with critics or cinemagoers (it currently holds a score of 1.5 stars from users of the film-based social media site Letterboxd), Emma has claimed that internet culture could be to blame for its icy reception.
Asked by Variety about the fact the movie “didn’t do as well as obviously people had hoped”, Emma said: “Things work; things don’t work. Everyone likes to act like they can predict if they’re going to work or they’re not. And the truth is, you can’t.
“Things do badly, and then they blow up later on TikTok. Things do well, but then you watch them, and you’re like, ‘This did well?’. There is no secret. It’s about doing something good-ish and it hitting at the right time. Everything else is like a wish and a prayer.”
She continued: “I’m not intimidated by failure, and I’m not intimidated by people having negative thoughts about something. I personally really loved Madame Web. I really enjoyed the movie. I thought everyone in it was great. The director, S.J. Clarkson, I think did an amazing job. She’s the reason I wanted to do that movie.
“If it wasn’t for internet culture and everything being made into a joke, I think that the reception would’ve been different. And that’s what bums me out about a lot of stuff, even stuff that I’ve done, is people just make such a joke out of everything now.”
Dakota previously told Bustle that she was “not surprised” that Madame Web went “down the way it has”.
“It’s so hard to get movies made, and in these big movies that get made — and it’s even starting to happen with the little ones, which is what’s really freaking me out — decisions are being made by committees, and art does not do well when it’s made by committee,” she said.
“Films are made by a filmmaker and a team of artists around them. You cannot make art based on numbers and algorithms
“My feeling has been for a long time that audiences are extremely smart, and executives have started to believe that they’re not. Audiences will always be able to sniff out bullshit. Even if films start to be made with AI, humans aren’t going to fucking want to see those.
“But it was definitely an experience for me to make that movie. I had never done anything like it before. I probably will never do anything like it again because I don’t make sense in that world. And I know that now.
“But sometimes in this industry, you sign on to something, and it’s one thing and then as you’re making it, it becomes a completely different thing, and you’re like, ‘Wait, what?’. But it was a real learning experience, and of course it’s not nice to be a part of something that’s ripped to shreds, but I can’t say that I don’t understand.”