The WORST Marvel Movie Is Now on Disney+

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It seems the House of Mouse is once again casting a wide net for Marvel content—even the stuff that didn’t exactly set the box office on fire.Credit: Sony Pictures/Marvel StudiosDisney+ already serves as a streaming graveyard for a handful of Marvel’s more notable box office flops. But now, its collection of critical and commercial disappointments has grown by one more controversial entry. Yes, 2024’s Madame Web, the film that arguably became the face of the much-maligned and increasingly bewildering Sony’s Spider-Man Universe (SSU).The Web of Woe: A Critical Catastrophe Finds a New HomeAs of November 14, the Dakota Johnson-led feature officially wrapped up its tenure on Netflix and transitioned to Disney+. This means Disney+ subscribers can now stream the movie that earned a shocking 10% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer right alongside the second-highest-grossing film of all time, Avengers: Endgame (2019).Credit: Sony PicturesReleased in February 2024, Madame Web grossed a weak $100.5 million worldwide, against a reported production budget of $80–100 million. It is widely regarded as the lowest point in the Sony-produced, Marvel-based SSU—a collection of movies that already includes other critical and commercial disasters, such as Morbius (2022) and last year’s Kraven the Hunter (2024). The latter netted just $62 million globally.Despite the critical backlash of Madame Web, the film’s migration to Disney+ isn’t some act of desperate programming. It’s actually thanks to a pre-existing, and very important, licensing deal with Sony Pictures.While Netflix initially got the coveted “Pay-1 window” streaming rights (Sony’s typical first stop), the move to Disney+ signifies the start of the “Pay-2 window,” as The Direct explains. This strategic shift enables Disney’s flagship platform to consolidate a vast array of Marvel’s non-MCU properties.Credit: Sony PicturesAnd here’s the kicker: despite being a critical disaster, Madame Web was actually a big success for Netflix, becoming one of its most-watched properties during its time on the platform. This isn’t strange in the streaming area, as even poor Disney performers like Snow White (2025) and Elio (2025) became immensely popular when they hit the streamer. Proof that sometimes, even box office flops can be a hit in the wild world of streaming.The SSU So FarSony’s Spider-Man Universe (SSU) is a media franchise and shared cinematic universe distinct from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), created by Sony Pictures and based on Marvel Comics characters associated with Spider-Man. The key characteristic of the SSU is that it focuses primarily on the heroes, anti-heroes, and villains from Spider-Man’s world—such as Venom and Morbius—rather than making the web-slinger himself a central figure.Credit: Sony PicturesThe films maintain generally loose connections, prioritizing standalone narratives while occasionally utilizing the Multiverse concept in post-credit scenes to create minor, often confusing, links to the MCU.To date, the SSU comprises six live-action feature films: the commercially successful Venom (2018) and its sequel Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021); Morbius (2022), which introduced the “Living Vampire”; Madame Web (2024), a prequel focused on Cassandra Webb; and the upcoming films Venom: The Last Dance (2024), which concludes the Venom trilogy, and Kraven the Hunter (2024).How do you feel about Sony’s Spider-Man Universe? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!The post The WORST Marvel Movie Is Now on Disney+ appeared first on Inside the Magic.