Emma Roberts Blamed "Internet Culture" For "Madame Web's" Lack Of Success, And I'm Curious If You Agree
Emma Roberts explained why movies like Madame Web sometimes flop at the box office, and suggested the internet might be to blame.
In an interview with Variety, the Space Cadet actor said, more or less, that nobody can honestly put their finger on a movie's unpredictable fate. But she has a working theory.
"Things work; things don't work. Everyone likes to act like they can predict if they're going to work or they're not," Emma told Variety. "And the truth is, you can't. Things do badly, and then they blow up later on TikTok."
"Things do well, but then you watch them, and you're like, 'This did well?' There is no secret. It's about doing something goodish and it hitting at the right time. Everything else is like a wish and a prayer."
If you remember, Emma starred in the S. J. Clarkson Marvel Comics film alongside Dakota Johnson, Sydney Sweeney, Isabela Merced, Celeste O'Connor, Tahar Rahim, and Adam Scott back in February.
Since shortly after its release, the movie has maintained an 11% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 57% Audience Score.
Despite the audience and critics response, Emma "personally loved" the Marvel movie.
"I'm not intimidated by failure, and I'm not intimidated by people having negative thoughts about something. I personally really loved 'Madame Web,'" Emma said.
"I really enjoyed the movie. I thought everyone in it was great. The director, S. J. Clarkson, I think did an amazing job. She's the reason I wanted to do that movie."
Emma has an idea of why the movie didn't receive positive reviews from the audience and critics.
"If it wasn't for internet culture and everything being made into a joke, I think that the reception would've been different," she said.
She's not wrong. Everywhere from New York Times and Letterboxd reviews had strong opinions about the movie.
And the internet wasted no time in flooding timelines with jokes and memes about the movie at the time of its release.
Stay safe out there everyone.. so i had 2 tickets for the Madame Web movie in my car and someone broke in and left 4 more pic.twitter.com/agTxbbwhJp
— kira 👾 (@kirawontmiss) February 15, 2024
This is how every line in Madame Web is delivered btw pic.twitter.com/PjjMqE31J0
— Michael Benjamin (@mfbenji) February 20, 2024
Dimension Films / Twitter: @mfbenji
Madame Web got my brain to such a weird place that my Oura ring thought i was asleep pic.twitter.com/idKw9AVi7w
— ali segel (@OnlineAlison) February 18, 2024
"And that's what bums me out about a lot of stuff, even stuff that I've done, is people just make such a joke out of everything now," Emma added.
On the other hand, it wasn't just the audience and critics who gave these opinions on the movie. The film's star, Dakota Johnson, said she wasn't surprised by its disappointment.
"Unfortunately, I'm not surprised that this has gone down the way it has," Dakota told Bustle, noting it's challenging to get movies made, and audiences are not easily fooled by cutting corners. "But it was definitely an experience for me to make that movie. I had never done anything like it before. I probably will never do anything like it again, because I don't make sense in that world. And I know that now."
"But sometimes in this industry, you sign on to something, and it's one thing and then as you're making it, it becomes a completely different thing, and you're like, Wait, what? But it was a real learning experience, and of course it's not nice to be a part of something that's ripped to shreds, but I can't say that I don't understand."
Do you agree that internet culture contributes to the unfair negative perception of TV and movies, or are they just that bad before they even hit theaters?
Read Emma Roberts's full interview here.