Sydney Sweeney Reacts To Madame Web Flop, Reveals Why She Did The Movie

Sydney Sweeney starred in Sony’s Madame Web, which has been one of 2024’s biggest high-profile flops, and now she’s commented on that and revealed why she agreed to be in the movie in the first place. Speaking to GQ, Sweeney said Madame Web was “such a large movie with so many people involved,” and she was “just hired as an actor” to bring a character to life, Spider-Woman, that her little cousins would be excited about.

“There’s no outcome I can control on a film like that, especially when I’m not a producer. You sign up for whatever happens and you take the ride,” she said.

This seems to track with what star Dakota Johnson was discussing when she reacted to the movie’s poor performance by calling out “filmmaking by committee.”

Speaking to GQ, Sweeney said there is “definitely a different formula” to making a movie like Madame Web, and it was “very different” from what she’s used to.

While Johnson has said she probably won’t make another movie like Madame Web again, Sweeney said she’s not ready to shut any doors. “I think that if the story is right and you have the right team, I would love to,” she said.

As for why she signed on for Madame Web at all, Sweeney said it was a strategic move to help build a professional relationship with Sony Pictures. She described Madame Web as a “building block” for her, adding that without Madame Web, she “wouldn’t have a relationship with the decision-makers over there.”

She pointed out that not every gig she agrees to is for the art. In the case of Madame Web, it was a “strategic business decision,” and one that seems to have paid off. She said that because she made Madame Web, she was able to sell her rom-com Anyone But You and sign on for Barbarella.

Anyone But You, released in 2023, was far more successful than Madame Web ($97 million), bringing in more than $200 million globally for Sony Pictures. Barbarella, meanwhile, is a remake of the 1968 sci-fi movie, with Sweeney set to play Jane Fonda’s character from the original.

The Spider-Man series continues in 2024 with the release of Venom: The Last Dance. After that, it’s widely expected that Sony will make more mainline Spider-Man films.