Dakota Johnson Details What Led to Flop of Widely Memed 'Madame Web': 'It Wasn't My Fault'

Dakota Johnson says the oft-referenced bombing of last year’s Madame Web wasn’t her fault, which in turn means the absence of a key line from the trailer in the final film is also not her fault.

The 2024 Spider-Man Universe entry, also starring Sydney Sweeney, is brought up in a recent Los Angeles Times profile on Johnson and Materialists director Celine Song by Mark Olsen, who noted that a “feigned seriousness” was adopted upon mention of the critical and commercial flop.

“It wasn’t my fault,” Johnson said. Instead, per the TeaTime Pictures co-founder, what ultimately drove the film into the ground is a tale that’s (unfortunately) as old as time itself: namely, people who have zero fucking business touching or even vaguely interacting with the artistic process forcing their way into the room.

As Johnson put it, this “made by committee” approach has taken down many a film, Madame Web included.

“It’s really hard to make art that way,” Johnson, also soon to be seen in the Cannes-premiered Splitsville in August, added. “Or to make something entertaining that way. And I think unfortunately with Madame Web, it started out as something and turned into something else. And I was just sort of along for the ride at that point.”

With Madame Web firmly (and thankfully) in the rearview, Materialists—led by Johnson, Pedro Pascal, and Chris Evans—is poised to stand as one of 2025’s most acclaimed films. After all, its director, the aforementioned Celine Song, earned unanimous praise and an Oscar nomination for her previous film Past Lives, also released by A24. That gem of a film, starring Greta Lee, marked Song’s feature-length debut as a director.

Past Lives is currently available to stream on Netflix. Materialists, meanwhile, hits theaters on June 13.