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Madame Web Bomb Has Killed Sony’s Hopes for a Franchise

The flop is wiping out an entire plan for a new movie series, as Sony becomes the latest superhero studio in need of a pivot.

Then last week, the critic reviews for Madame Web were posted, and they stung deepest of all — Sony ’s Spider-Man spin-off received the lowest average Rotten Tomatoes score (13 percent) of any major superhero film in nearly a decade. Plus, the feature’s collapse doesn’t just impact this film, but a new potential franchise led by star Dakota Johnson that Sony had hoped to spin out (spoiler alert: her character is connected to Peter Parker, whose birth is documented in the movie). So Madame Web — directed and co-written by SJ Clarkson and starring Johnson as a New York paramedic who develops psychic powers — seemingly took a wise approach: When there are capes and cowls on every metropolis corner, doesn’t it make sense to avoid the usual tropes and try for a more grounded-feeling, suspense thriller with low-key charm?

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