Madame Web is one of the latest Netflix new releases, as it hit the streamer on May 14th. While critics and the internet have roasted it, the superhero film still holds the #1 spot on the streaming service's Top 10 trending list in the United States. The streamer's top trending movie worldwide, however, is another movie entirely, and some may be surprised by the title that's managed to take that position.
Considering how critics panned Madame Web, it's impressive that it's been in the lead of the Top 10 Films in the United States for the past week. It's wild to think that reviewers and social media users haven't taken kindly to the superhero origin story. Nevertheless, many may just be checking it out due to sheer curiosity. Plus, there have been defenders of the Dakota Johnson-led flick, who've argued it's better than recent Marvel movies. They apparently find humor and charm in its campier qualities.
All in the while, in an interesting turn of events, a newer title is making noise across the globe. Brooke Shields and Miranda Cosgrove’s Mother of the Bride may be at Netflix’s #2 spot for Top 10 Films in the United States, but it's currently #1 amongst Global Top 10 Films worldwide. On that list, Sony's Spider-Man spinoff comes in at #2 The rom-com (which hasn't received strong reviews) has been at this very high standing for the past two weeks since its premiere on May 9 and has beaten the comic book movie by over 14 million views. I'm not sure if anyone saw that coming.
A situation like this isn't all that uncommon, though, as critically abhorred films have managed to take top positions in Netflix's trending ranks. Queen Latifah and Ludacris’ movie, End of the Road, was a Top 10 entry, despite low scores from critics and general audiences. Another title that found such success was Desperadoes, which quietly dominated on the streaming service despite its low Rotten Tomatoes score of 15%.
Mother of the Bride is a romantic comedy about a mother who discovers that not only is her daughter planning to get married, but that the father of the groom is the man who broke her heart years earlier. Its critics score on Rotten Tomatoes is currently a lowly 14% with its audience score no better at 13%.
I wonder if the 2024 movie release's dominance on the global scale indicates that audiences are just looking for a feel-good flick regardless of the reviews. It's also worth mentioning that fellow the rom-com Anyone But You holds a 53% critic rating on RT, but the box office hit managed to become the No. 1 title in the country on Netflix from April 22nd to May 5th. So, needless to say, this isn't an exact science that can be correlated with critical reception.
Regardless of the fact that Mother of the Bride is topping Madame Web in the worldwide standings, both have surely accomplished some major streaming feats. Audiences are clearly finding themselves wanting to get a taste of these two movies, and I’m curious how long they’ll be able to stay in their top positions. And, if you'd like to check out both of these films for yourself, grab a Netflix subscription to do that.
