Summary
- Deadpool & Wolverine performed well on Disney Plus, but was surpassed by the surprising flop Madame Web on Netflix.
- Madame Web's Netflix success shows there is an audience for the film, despite its poor box office performance and negative reviews.
- The unexpected victory of Madame Web over Deadpool & Wolverine could potentially impact future Spider-verse movie decisions for Sony.
Deadpool & Wolverine is one of Marvel Studios' most successful movies. The comedic, fourth-wall-breaking film proved to be a significant hit at the box office and with critics. Having grossed over $1 billion worldwide, this movie had everyone talking, whether they were fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe or not, as it pushed beyond the fandom and into pop culture generally.
Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds delivered exceptional performances, and the film featured no shortage of fun cameos to entertain the masses. That led to high expectations for Deadpool & Wolverine when it was released on Disney Plus, and while it did perform well in terms of streaming numbers, it was beaten by a very surprising flop.
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According to the Nielsen numbers, Deadpool & Wolverine gained 15.8 million views during its first two weeks streaming on Disney Plus. However, the Sony flop Madame Web has ended up beating that by gaining 16 million views in its first two weeks streaming on Netflix. Whether this is down to the number of worldwide subscribers that each platform has is unclear, but it's an unexpected victory for Sony's Spider-verse movie, which performed terribly at the box office and was destroyed by critics.
Madame Web features an impressive cast with Sydney Sweeney, Dakota Johnson, Adam Scott, Isabel Merced, and Emma Roberts, all starring in a film with potential on paper. However, it only made $100 million worldwide, while it went on to receive three Golden Raspberry Awards for Worst Picture, Worst Actress (Johnson), and Worst Screenplay, as the film struggled to gain any positivity. It ended up being a major flop for Sony and was a contributing factor in the decision to halt making Spider-verse movies anymore. Outside of the Venom films, none of them performed particularly well, which was primarily due to the lack of Spider-Man, but the fact that none of the movies were gaining any interest wasn't a good sign.
However, Madam Web's Netflix numbers prove that there is at least an audience that is curious enough to check it out from the comfort of their own homes. Whether this was due to people being pulled in by the bad reviews and wanting to have fun at its expense or simply judging it for themselves, Madam Web has ended up being a win for Netflix and will provide some positivity for those who were involved in the project. It's not the first time that a movie has ended up finding more success away from the theatres, and it certainly won't be the last.
Whether this ends up helping Sony to green-light more Spider-verse movies will remain to be seen, but it is a rare win over Marvel Studios, which is something that those in the company will certainly take. While few would say that Madam Web is the superior movie between the two, the fact that more people wanted to watch it than Deadpool & Wolverine is a telling sign of how people's viewing habits can be vastly different from what people might first expect on paper.
Deadpool & Wolverine
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- July 26, 2024
- Runtime
- 127 Minutes
Cast
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Deadpool -
Hugh JackmanWolverine
