The past few years have been a golden age for Marvel fans as the storytelling of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has continued to expand and more Marvel characters have been pulled from the pages for live-action films and TV shows from Disney and Sony. But amid major releases like Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Deadpool & Wolverine, a few have been less successful. That was certainly the case for a recent Marvel flop that suffered an approximate $100 million loss. That movie just left Netflix and is now streaming on a rival platform.
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Madame Web, Sony’s Spider-Man Universe spinoff starring Dakota Johnson, just left Netflix for Disney+ on November 14th. A massive flop marked by a disastrous box office performance and negative critical and audience reception, the movie serves as an origin story for the clairvoyant Marvel character Cassandra Webb. As she begins to show signs of clairvoyance, she must use her new powers to protect three young women from a mysterious adversary who wants them dead.
Madame Web Became a Surprise Streaming Hit, and It Could Do It Again on Disney+
The streaming era has a way of salvaging massive movie flops, turning theatrical failures into streaming hits by giving them a second life with a different audience, and that was the case with Madame Web. After bombing at the box office with just a $100 million worldwide gross and securing just a 10% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, the film found unexpected streaming success when it hit Netflix in May 2024. Madame Web immediately became the most popular movie streaming on the platform upon its debut and went on to become Sony’s biggest hit on streaming platforms in 2024, even surpassing movies with more successful theatrical runs such as Deadpool & Wolverine.
That streaming success doesn’t really have anything to do with Madame Web being better than viewers initially perceived. The film is a train wreck that may fall into the “so bad it’s good” category of movies, but most of what has driven those high streaming numbers is its status as a meme-worthy sensation and its social media virality, which fueled viewer curiosity.
With Madame Web moving streaming homes, it stands the chance of doubling down as a massive streaming win. Disney+ subscribers have a proven hunger for Marvel and superhero-adjacent titles, with some of those titles even having the best premiere viewership on the service. Most recently, Thunderbolts* found instant success on Disney+ after flopping at the box office.
Is Madame Web Worth Watching?
If you’re looking for a popcorn movie to pass some time, then Madame Web will likely leave you satisfied. It’s far from the best movie on streaming – in fact, it’s one of the lowest-rated superhero movies – but if you go into it with the mindset that you’re about to view a campy, so-bad-it’s-good movie, you may just find it bearable. The movie ultimately suffers from a weak script, sparse action, and one-dimensional characters, but it has a great found-family theme and provides a unique superhero origin story.
Madame Web is now streaming on Disney+ alongside Disney Twisted-Wonderland: The Animation, Fire and Water: Making the Avatar Films, and LEGO Marvel Avengers: Strange Tails.
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