The latest film in the Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, Madame Web, only hit theaters a couple of months ago, but it’s already on its way to streaming services.
Netflix has announced that Madame Web will be headed to its streaming service this month, exactly three months after its premiere in US cinemas. The film will be available on May 14, 2024 in the US, and so far other regions have yet to be announced.
The film was a bit of a flop when it was released in theaters, earning $100.3 million against a budget of $80 million — earning back its development costs, but likely falling short of the overall cost including marketing. It also flopped critically, with just 12% of critics giving the film a positive score on Rotten Tomatoes.
The film was such a mess that its lead actor, Dakota Johnson, said she won’t do anything like Madame Web again. Johnson said in an interview that films like Madame Web are being “made by committees,” and that she doesn’t “make sense in that world.” Dakota Johnson also hasn’t seen the film, which is probably for the best, honestly.
Spider-Woman actor Sydney Sweeney didn’t care so much that Madame Web bombed, though, despite also playing a lead role that probably could have been picked up for a standalone film in the future. According to Sweeney, she was “just along for the ride,” and even made fun of Madame Web on SNL.
Madame Web is a part of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, a cinematic universe that notably does not include Spider-Man but does include films like Morbius, Venom, Venom 2, the upcoming Venom 3, and Kraven the Hunter. It’s Sony’s answer to the MCU, but it hasn’t quite taken off in the same way the MCU has.
But hey, who knows, maybe Madame Web coming to Netflix in a couple of weeks will finally give the shared superhero universe the boost in popularity it needs. It won't, but maybe.
More must-reads: