Over a year after the film’s huge box-office failure, Madame Web star Sydney Sweeney revealed her honest take on the film flopping. In addition to Sweeney, the film starred Dakota Johnson, Isabela Merced, Celeste O’Connor, Emma Roberts, Adam Scott, and Tahar Rahim. Boasting an abysmal 11% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a worldwide gross of $100 million per Box Office Mojo, Madame Web is widely considered a total failure. It also marked yet another unsuccessful attempt by Sony to emulate the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

In a recent interview, Sweeney unpacked her perspective on Madame Web’s poor reception:

I mean, I had a really fun time, so that is all that matters to me. I think that if you are enjoying what you do, it doesn’t really matter what the outcome is, on a box-office level. Of course, you want the film to be celebrated and loved and successful, because then everyone succeeds.

The actress also explained what drew her to star in a Marvel film, stating that “it’s always fun to be able to be a part of something that’s bigger than yourself.” Sweeney then clarified that she “hadn’t done a studio film yet” and needed Madame Web to be a stepping stone. She stated: “I had some properties that I really wanted to be able to take out to studios, and I needed to be able to get my name to have more value, within a studio household. Doing a project like that really helps you on in the market.“

Additionally, Sweeney was interested in making a film that would appeal to her family. Because she has “a bunch of little teenage cousins,” the actress “thought it would be so cool to be able to do something that they’d actually think was fun and cool.“

What Sydney Sweeney’s Madame Web Comments Mean

The Star Has Criticized Madame Web In The Past

Sweeney’s role in Madame Web was as one of three teenage girls destined to develop spider powers akin to those of Spider-Man. Cᴀssandra Webb/Madame Web (Johnson) finds herself protecting these girls from Ezekiel Sims (Rahim) after he gets a premonition that they will eventually kill him. With a premise like this and ties to Spider-Man, it makes sense that Sweeney found this film a good project to both share with her family and earn some name recognition.

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Once the film was released and things weren’t looking too good, Sweeney bluntly criticized the film on multiple occasions. Shortly after Madame Web hit theaters, she stated: “I was just hired as an actress in it, so I was just along for the ride for whatever was going to happen.” Around the same time, the actress called out the films’ awful performance while hosting Saturday Night Live, quipping: “You might have seen me in Anyone but You or Euphoria. You definitely did not see me in Madame Web.”

Our Take On Sydney Sweeney’s Madame Web Comments

Sydney Sweeney’s Career Is Going Well

Based on both her comments around the time of the film’s release and more recently, Sweeney isn’t losing any sleep over Madame Web’s failure. She intended the film to be a catalyst for being able to produce and star in more major studio films. Given that she currently has producer credits for three upcoming movies, she seems to have achieved this goal.

As for her future in superhero cinema, Sweeney has said she’s open to reprising her role in the MCU proper. Nonetheless, plans for a Madame Web sequel were dropped, but even without another Marvel film under her belt, Sweeney seems to be doing just fine.