The Worst Superhero Movie Is Trending Around The World
Never doubt the world’s love of a bad movie as Madame Web is crawling her way up the charts on numerous streamers around the world. As they say, no press is bad press, and that’s definitely true for the Sony flop that entered cinemas in February of this year. While it may have been the laughing stock of the studio’s Spider-Man Universe, the now almost legendary feedback may be what’s driving viewers to check out the Dakota Johnson-led feature at home in record numbers.
Madame Web’s Relentless Rankings
This week, countries like Bulgaria, Poland, Moldova, North Macedonia, and more made Madame Web the #1 movie on Max’s Top 10 list, while others in Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa helped it top Netflix’s rankings.
Meanwhile, Australians and Spaniards couldn’t get enough of the title on Prime Video, boosting it to become the streamer’s #1 movie. As you’ll notice, although it’s streaming on Netflix in the U.S., Madame Web isn’t among the platform’s Top 10 over here, but it spent plenty of time lording over other titles when it first arrived back in May.
Worth Its Weight In Unintentional Comedy
Considering all the criticism that Madame Web took during its run in cinemas, it’s shocking that the movie is performing so well globally. The movie earned $100.3 million at the global box office against its reported production budget of $100 million, barely breaking even on that front, let alone marketing and distribution costs. That’s what you get for making your main characters research spiders in the Amazon! Hefty travel costs.
On Rotten Tomatoes, Madame Web holds a devastating 11 percent approval rating from critics which is – quite frankly – kind of harsh. Even if you hated the movie, there’s still entertainment value in pointing out all the things wrong with it. Those of us who love a comically bad movie will forever cherish the amount of money that a major studio poured into such unintentional comedy gold.
The Madame Web Rundown
Despite how the story plays out, the plot of Madame Web is a pretty straightforward one on paper. The movie introduces audiences to Cassandra Webb (Dakota Johnson), an EMT who has a near-death experience and comes back to this plane of reality with clairvoyant powers. Meanwhile, the bad guy, Tahar Rahim’s Ezekiel Sims, is out to get three girls who he has foreseen to be his doom.
Striking out to find the trio before they find him, Ezekiel goes on the hunt for the young women Cassandra ends up protecting. Together, the three future Spider-Women use their powers to fight Ezekiel with the help of Cassandra. As easy and to the point as it sounds, some wild plot choices make Madame Web difficult to follow but it’s all worth it for the final scene.
The Talent Behind Madame Web
Along with Dakota Johnson, the movie also signed on a handful of names who somehow agreed to take part in the S.J. Clarkson-helmed film. Filling out the cast of Madame Web are Sydney Sweeney (Euphoria), Isabela Merced (Alien: Romulus), Celeste O’Connor (Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire), Adam Scott (Parks and Recreation), Mike Epps (the Friday franchise), Zosia Mamet (Girls), Emma Roberts (Scream Queens), and more.
The Wrong Formula To Get The Right Answer
While it may come as a shock to some that Madame Web is doing so well on its global takeover, it isn’t surprising to those of us who have loved it for all this time and are happy that it’s spreading joy around the world.
As of this writing, those living in the United States can stream Madame Web on Netflix, or purchase the title on demand through Fandango At Home, Amazon Prime Video, and Apple TV+.
