Let’s talk about Madame Web. When it hit theaters in February 2024, it was like watching a car wreck in slow motion—critics tore it apart, audiences ghosted it, and Sony’s Spider-Man spinoff became a legendary flop. Now, Dakota Johnson, the movie’s star, is spilling the tea, and she’s not here to take the blame. In a super chill chat with the Los Angeles Times on June 4, 2025, alongside her Materialists director Celine Song, Johnson cracked up while saying Madame Web’s failure wasn’t on her. She’s pointing fingers at studio chaos and a total lack of creative spark. Here’s the scoop on what she said and why everyone’s buzzing.'
Johnson, who played the psychic paramedic Cassandra Webb, didn’t mince words. “It wasn’t my fault,” she said with a laugh, keeping it real but with a sting. She blamed the mess on “decisions made by a room full of suits” and folks “who don’t have a clue about creativity.” Basically, the movie she thought she was making? Not the one we got. “It started as one thing and ended up as something totally different. I was just along for the wild ride,” she told the Times.
The film was supposed to launch a fresh corner of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, with Cassie saving three young women (Sydney Sweeney, Isabela Merced, Celeste O’Connor) from a creepy villain, Ezekiel Sims (Tahar Rahim). Even with a killer cast—Mike Epps, Emma Roberts, Adam Scott—it tanked, pulling in just $100.5 million worldwide on an $80 million budget. That’s barely breaking even. It got a brutal 12% on Rotten Tomatoes and snagged Worst Picture, Worst Screenplay, and Worst Actress for Johnson at the 2025 Razzies. Rough stuff.
Johnson’s no stranger to dishing on the chaos. During the Madame Web press tour, she called the whole process “straight-up bonkers,” struggling with all the blue-screen madness and a production that felt like a hot mess. She’s dropped hints that the original plan—maybe involving a young Peter Parker and tighter MCU vibes—got chopped up last minute. X posts and reports even mentioned merch for that version getting scrapped.
“These days, you’ve got too many people in suits making creative calls,” she said. “Good luck making art—or even something fun—like that.” She’s not wrong. Fans and critics are always calling out Hollywood for letting execs steamroll directors. The script, written by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless (who gave us gems like Morbius and Gods of Egypt), was dragged for its cringey lines and jumbled plot. That “he was in the Amazon with my mom researching spiders” bit? Instant meme fuel.
But Johnson’s brushing it off like a pro. “Big movies bomb all the time,” she said with a shrug. “I’m not losing sleep over it.” She’s not done with blockbusters forever—she’s like, “I’m not swearing off them or anything”—but you can tell she’s way more stoked about smaller gigs like Materialists, Daddio, and Splitsville, all through her company, TeaTime Pictures. In Materialists, out June 13, 2025, she’s a New York matchmaker caught in a love triangle with Chris Evans and Pedro Pascal. Way less stressful than dodging CGI spiders.
Johnson’s tapping into a bigger Hollywood vibe: the tug-of-war between making art and chasing cash. She’s not the first to shade committee-driven movies—think DCEU’s early flops or Marvel’s multiverse hiccups. Her realness, especially after a press tour where she playfully trashed the film and told Bustle in March 2024 she “probably won’t do that again,” has fans loving her no-filter style. “People can smell inauthenticity a mile away,” she said back then, and Madame Web’s 3.7/10 IMDb score proves her point.
The movie was a low point for Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, and Kraven the Hunter bombing at $62 million didn’t help. Whispers of a ditched Spider-Woman focus and MCU ties make Madame Web feel like a missed layup. Meanwhile, Johnson’s already onto projects like Verity with Anne Hathaway and Josh Hartnett.
Dakota Johnson’s not sweating Madame Web’s flop, and her straight-up vibe is a breath of fresh air in Hollywood’s PR-polished world. Calling out studio execs and a lack of vision, she’s saying what fans already think: too many cooks ruin the flick. Whether you vibe with her acting or not, she’s owning her piece of the chaos while keeping her eyes forward. “Who cares?” she laughed—and with Materialists coming up, she’s betting fans will care more about her next move than her last stumble. You can check Madame Web out on Netflix if you’re curious, but don’t hold your breath for Johnson swinging back into the Spider-Verse anytime soon.