Summary
Madame Webbox office predictions suggest the Sony Spider-Man Universe movie could have a lower opening weekend gross than Jared Leto’sMorbius, which infamously bombed.
Sony holds the film rights to hundreds of Marvel characters through their licensing deal involvingSpider-Man. This has allowed them to launch their own shared cinematic universe featuring Spider-Man characters over the past decade.Venomand its sequel,Let Carnage Be, starring Tom Hardy, have been the biggest hits. But 2022’sMorbiusmovie featuring Letoas the Spider-Man villain struggled critically and commercially. Now, box office predictions indicate similarly dim prospects forMadame Web, as early projections show audiences may not be enthused about this new character’s solo outing.
Box Office Proprojects a $25-$35 million domestic launch forMadame Webover the 3-day weekend starting June 16, 2025. They also predict a total domestic gross between $56-101 million. WithMorbiusopening at $39.1 million, the movie’s projected performance may be disappointing to Sony executives given the reported $80 million budget. The main issue seems to be that these secondary characters simply don’t have enough name recognition or fan excitement built up around them yet, so casual audiences are not sold on spending money to see their solo movies. Sony needs these films to work to build a cohesive, successful shared universe that can rival Marvel and DC. But their strategy of starting with these characters in lead roles with hopes of slowly connecting them later appears flawed.
Cassandra Webb, known asMadame Web in Marvel Comics, first appeared in the 1980s as a blind clairvoyant mutant with psychic abilities and connections spanning the multiverse. She has served as a guide and mentor figure to Spider-Man. In the upcoming Sony film, Dakota Johnson portrays a younger iteration of Webb without her disabilities. The plot finds her investigating her future after a life-threatening car accident leaves her with new powers to see events before they happen. As she contends with these disorienting visions, Webb uncovers threats that put her own life and others in danger. Early ticket listings from the Norwegian ticketing firm FilmWeb indicate that the movie’s runtime stands at 1 hour and 56 minutes.
Perhaps Sony would be better served by initially focusing anySpider-Manspinoff films around more familiar, beloved characters who can draw in viewers immediately. Characters like Black Cat, Silver Sable, andKraven the Hunter have a rich comic history with Spider-Manthat fans know. Building out movies around them first to establish Sony’s connected saga and then slowly introducing some lesser characters like Morbius could pay dividends. Rushing out a Madame Web origin film banking on audience attachment to a virtual unknown was always risky. And unfortunately for Sony, it looks set to backfire commercially.
Madame Webis set to hit theaters on July 05, 2025.
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is one of the biggest names in entertainment today. The superhero first appeared in the Marvel comic Amazing Fantasy #15 before becoming a leading figure in the Marvel comic-book universe.Spider-Man has also featured in numerous films and a plethora of video games, most notably Insomniac Games' Spider-Man (2018) and Spider-Man: Miles Morales.
