Madame Web star blames “internet culture” for the Sony Marvel movie flopping: “People just make such a joke out of everything now”

Emma Roberts says TikTok and “internet culture” are to blame for Madame Web’s poor critical reception and box office returns.

“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. I’m not intimidated by failure, and I’m not intimidated by people having negative thoughts about something,” Roberts told Variety. “I personally really loved Madame Web. 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.”

Roberts played Mary Parker, Ben Parker’s (Adam Scott) pregnant sister-in-law who goes into labor with none other than her son Peter Parker (though this is only heavily implied in the film, it is made a little bit more apparent by the film’s 2003 setting which is consistent with the age of Tom Holland’s Peter Parker) with tiny infant Peter appearing at the very end.

The film, which stars Dakota Johnson as the titular hero, became the subject of many internet memes (much like Sony’s other Spidey flop Morbius) before going on to break even at the box office and receive largely negative reviews.

Continued Roberts: “If it wasn’t for internet culture and everything being made into a joke, I think that the reception would’ve been different. 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.”

Madame Web is streaming now on Netflix. For more, check out our list of the most exciting upcoming movies in 2024 and beyond.