Dakota Johnson Reflects on Her Superhero Flop 'Madame Web': 'It Wasn't My Fault'

Published: June 4, 2025

Dakota Johnson is opening up about the failure of her 2024 movie, 'Madame Web', which received negative reviews from critics and audiences alike.

In a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, Johnson, 35, laughed off the idea that she was responsible for the movie's poor performance. "It wasn't my fault," she said. "There's this thing that happens now where a lot of creative decisions are made by committee. Or made by people who don't have a creative bone in their body."

Johnson went on to explain that making art or something entertaining becomes difficult when creative decisions are made by people without a creative vision. She stated that bigger-budget movies fail all the time, and 'Madame Web' was no exception.

'Madame Web' was a superhero movie based on the Marvel Comics character Cassandra Webb, who gains clairvoyant abilities that allow her to see the future of characters associated with Spider-Man and Peter Parker. The movie also starred Sydney Sweeney, Celeste O'Connor, Isabela Merced, Tahar Rahim, Mike Epps, Adam Scott, and Emma Roberts.

Despite the negative reviews and poor box office performance, Johnson doesn't seem to be too bothered by it. "I don't have a Band-Aid over it," she said. "There's no part of me that's like, 'Oh, I'll never do that again' to anything. I've done even tiny movies that didn't do well. Who cares?"

Johnson's latest movie, 'Materialists', is set to release in theaters on June 13. The romantic comedy follows Johnson's character, a New York City matchmaker whose love life becomes caught between two men: an ex named John (Chris Evans) and a new man named Harry (Pedro Pascal).

When asked why she hasn't made more romantic comedies, Johnson praised the writer-director of 'Materialists', saying, "I think a lot of what I read these days is void of soul and heart, and [writer-director Song] is all soul and heart. I really love a rom-com if it feels like I can connect to the people in it."

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