Sony Pictures CEO Tony Vinciquerra, who is leaving his role at the end of the year, spoke about Madame Web in an interview with the Los Angeles Times on Thursday.
He defended the superhero movie, directed by S.J. Clarkson and starring Dakota Johnson and Sydney Sweeney, saying it isn’t as bad as people think. Vinciquerra blamed the press for giving the film a poor reputation, even though it hit theaters earlier this year.
Let’s talk about Madame Web for a moment, The movie didn’t do well in theaters because the press tore it apart. It wasn’t a bad film, and it actually performed really well on Netflix. For some reason, the press didn’t like us making movies like Kraven the Hunter and Madame Web, so the critics just slammed them.
Vinciquerra saidAdvertisement
Vinciquerra explained that other Sony comic book movies faced the same problem.
They did the same thing with Venom, but fans really loved it, and it became a huge success. These movies aren’t bad. For some reason, the critics in the press just tore them apart,
he said
The Hollywood Reporter described Madame Web as a dull and awkward movie with a very basic script. The review said the film lacks creativity, which isn’t surprising. It also pointed out that the characters don’t have much backstory to make them interesting. Instead, the movie relies on clumsy and rushed dialogue to explain things.
Madame Web earned $26.2 million when it came out, making it Sony’s lowest-performing superhero movie at the time. Earlier this month, Kraven the Hunter opened with just $11 million at the U.S. box office.
When asked if the Spider-Man universe needs a fresh approach, Vinciquerra said,
I think we need to come up with a new plan because it feels cursed. Even if the next one is great, it will still get torn apart.
On Rotten Tomatoes, Madame Web has a low score of 11%, and Kraven the Hunter isn’t far behind with a 16% rating.