'Morbius' Has a Solid Opening Weekend
by EG
Despite overwhelmingly negative reviews from critics and mixed repsonse from audiences, the new Marvel superhero movie Morbius turned in a solid box-office performance over its opening weekend. The relatively low-budget comic-book movie easily took the top spot on the charts for the week, but its staying power is questionable in the weeks ahead. Read on for details.
Jared Leto’s new movie Morbius bit off $39.1 million from 4,268 theaters in its domestic box office debut, in line with expectations after withering reviews. Globally, it took in $84 million.
The movie is Sony’s latest attempt to mine the comic book characters it controls as part of Marvel‘s Spider-Man universe following the smash success of its Spider-Man and Venom movies. However, insiders stress that Morbius isn’t a traditional superhero offering, but more of a dark, genre thriller revolving around a vampire. (This messaging isn’t a surprise, considering Morbius‘ modest opening.)
Director Daniel Espinosa‘s film sees Leto juggle time as the brilliant Dr. Michael Morbius — who has spent his life searching for a cure for the rare fatal blood disease that affects him — and as the blood-sucking monster he becomes, which fills his soul with horror.
Morbius cost a reported $75 million to make before marketing, far less than a marquee superhero offering such as Spider-Man: No Way Home, and also less than Venom. Males fueled the film (60 percent), while nearly two-thirds of ticket buyers were between ages 18-34.
Friday’s haul of $17.1 million included $5.7 million in Thursday previews.
Morbius holds just a 17 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes from critics. Audiences are also mixed, giving it a C+ CinemaScore, while exit scores on PostTrak are likewise mediocre. The audience score on Rotten Tomatoes is 67 percent.
Matt Smith and Adria Arjona also star in Marvel’s origin story of the conflicted antihero alongside Jared Harris, Al Madrigal and Tyrese Gibson.
Morbius had no trouble winning the weekend, both domestically and internationally, where it took in $44.9 million from 62 markets for the worldwide tally of $84 million. So far, there’s no talk of a sequel.
Paramount’s The Lost City, starring Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum, came in No. 2 domestically in its sophomore outing with $14.8 million for a North American tally of $54.6 million. It has only rolled out in 17 markets so far overseas for an early foreign total of $7 million and $61.6 million worldwide.
Get the rest of the story at The Hollywood Reporter.