Dakota Johnson forgot that she also needs to take responsibility for the failure of “Madame Web” because of her lackluster, disappointing performance.
Madame Web – Sony’s superhero project is considered the biggest “box office disappointment” in the history of comic book movies. This is the 4th work in the SSU (Sony Spider-Man universe), extending the company’s series of failures after Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021) and Morbius (2022).
Released in mid-February, the film has so far grossed less than $100 million at the global box office. In Vietnam, the project has also been withdrawn from theaters with a revenue of about $10 billion – a record low for superhero films. Many observers believe that Madame Web will cause heavy losses for the producer, as the production budget alone is up to $80 – $100 million .
Not only that, the work starring Dakota Johnson also has a negative impact on the brand that Sony has worked hard to build.
Dakota Johnson’s controversial reaction
Madame Web ‘s box office failure is no surprise. Since its release, the film has received negative reviews from both critics and audiences. The film follows Cassandra Webb (Dakota Johnson), a female rescue worker who discovers she has superpowers after an accident. With the ability to foresee the future, the character must figure out how to protect three young girls in danger.
Madame Web ‘s appearance at the time when the multiverse exploded on the big screen was highly anticipated. However, in the end, Sony’s new project still failed to win back the audience’s sympathy. The film received a “rotten tomato” score of 12% from experts on Rotten Tomatoes, while the rating from viewers was only 57%.
Dakota Johnson’s foray into superhero movies has been disappointing. She herself is not satisfied with the project she participated in.
| Dakota Johnson as Cassandra Webb. |
Most recently, responding to the media, the actress born in 1989 admitted that she was not surprised by the failure of Madame Web .
“I probably would never do something like that again, because I don’t make sense in that world. Now I understand that,” Dakota added. She revealed that she felt bad about participating in a film that was “torn to pieces” like Madame Web, noting that “it’s hard to make a good film when executives are involved.”
Dakota Johnson’s statement has received mixed reviews. Even Sony executives couldn’t hide their anger at the tactless blame. They believe that Dakota’s reaction to Madame Web’s failure will sooner or later come back to haunt her in future projects.
Executives also questioned Dakota’s performance and influence in the film. They said that not every project is successful. But even if it is bad, it is extremely bad for a star to speak ill of a film she is in. It is considered unprofessional and detrimental to the reputation of the work.
On the audience side, some spoke up to defend Dakota for daring to make such frank comments. However, many also thought that the 35-year-old star’s statement was tactless, especially when the film was still being shown in theaters. Many viewers bluntly criticized her for rushing to blame.
In contrast to Dakota, Sydney Sweeney – her co-star in the film – received many compliments for her subtle statements. When asked about the poor revenue of Madame Web , Sweeney replied: “I was hired to be an actress. So no matter what happens, I will still follow the film to the end.” The sensitive and intelligent behavior helped the young star win the hearts of fans.
Dakota Johnson is also responsible.
Madame Web received negative reactions from both audiences and critics for many reasons. Of course, the boring script with a “salty” story and superficial character development are major minus points.
However, it seems that Dakota forgot that she also had to bear a large part of the responsibility. After all, her acting was one of the main reasons why the audience was bored.
Playing Cassandra Webb – the central character of the film, Dakota Johnson’s performance was completely lackluster, lacking highlights despite having a lot of screen time. Right from the first scenes, she appeared and attracted everyone’s attention thanks to her beautiful appearance. That was also the only impression that the audience remembered about the character Cassandra Webb. Otherwise, her journey in the film easily made the audience “fall asleep”.
Madame Web spends a lot of time revolving around Cassandra’s life, with a series of tedious, repetitive plots. Dakota’s acting is powerless to keep the audience interested. She is “frozen” in most scenes, showing almost no significant emotional or inner changes.
Therefore, the female lead’s journey to accept the truth and her abilities is not convincing, rather forced and awkward. The acting weakness of the star born in 1989 is even more evident in the climaxes of tension, requiring the expression of strong emotions, showing psychological maturity after experiencing many events.
However, Dakota’s expressions are still “stiff”, not reflecting the character’s inner development. Her interactions with her co-stars are also not very graceful, making her feel out of place in the movie she plays the main character. In particular, the actress’s dialogue sometimes makes the audience laugh because it is silly and unnatural.
Becoming famous at the age of 25 after the 18+ series Fifty Shades of Grey, Dakota Johnson caught the attention of many directors in Hollywood. Possessing a beautiful appearance, impressive face and sexy eyes, she easily “captivates” the audience every time she appears.
However, the 50 Shades star seems to have only one shade throughout the projects she has participated in. Since then, Dakota Johnson has appeared in many works, such as How to Be Single , The High Note or The Lost Daughter… However, her acting has not improved much and is rarely highly appreciated.
Audiences still find Dakota “one-dimensional” and unchanging. She has a lot of trouble conveying the interesting personality and inner thoughts of her character. Some viewers also point out that the actress often chooses bad scripts. Even when given the opportunity to act with talented co-stars, her performance is still considered “lame”, dragging down the quality of the film.
