Madame Web has registered one of the weakest box office opening weeks of all time for a film based on a Marvel character.The film was released into cinemas around the world on February 14, and in its first six days, it took just $26.2 million (£20.8 million) in the US, and a further $25.7 million (£20.4 million) internationally.
This represents an underperformance, even compared to Sony’s recent Morbius, which itself was seen as a commercial disappointment.Based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, Madame Web stars Dakota Johnson in the lead role as a woman who develops psychic abilities.
The White Lotus’ Sydney Sweeney co-stars, as do Emma Roberts and Adam Scott.Directed by S.J. Clarkson (Anatomy of a Scandal) and co-written by Clarkson, Claire Parker, Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless (Morbius, Dracula Untold), the film was met with an initial wave of negative reviews after its Los Angeles premiere, with some labelling it “an embarrassing mess”.The Hollywood Reporter now notes that hopes of a franchise based off of Madame Web have been severely diminished.
Sony had hoped to use the film to launch a series of spinoffs, featuring the characters portrayed by Sweeney, Isabela Merced and Celeste O’Connor, but those now seem highly unlikely.“We’re not going to see another Madame Web movie for another decade plus,” said one industry insider to the publication.The most recent instalment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe was The Marvels, which made just $47 million (£38m) in its opening weekend in the US, the lowest opening in the MCU since 2008’s The Incredible Hulk.
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