Morbius Sees Record Box Office Drop In Second Weekend
Morbius hit theatres last weekend, and while it's managed to cross $100 million at the worldwide box office, the Sony/Columbia movie had a drastic drop in ticket sales on its second weekend. This isn't a huge shock considering how harsh critics have been on the movie. Currently, Morbius has a 17% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes. ComicBook.com's Spencer Perry gave the feature a 1 out of 5 and called it "lazy" and "incomprehensible." According to Forbes, Morbius only earned $2.95 million on its second Friday, tying with Dark Phoenix for a record drop in a blockbuster movie.
Morbius dropped 83% from last Friday, and it's looking like it will earn $9.9 million on its second weekend, another record-breaking drop for a comic book movie. That is a 75% drop from last weekend's $39 million debut. That means the Jared Leto-led movie has earned about $57 million at the domestic box office during its ten days out in theatres. Forbes points out that it will at least beat Fantastic Four ($56 million) and Dark Phoenix ($65 million) for a domestic finish of around $72 million. The movie cost $75 million to make, so the worldwide box office, which is set to reach $129 million by the end of the weekend, will keep the movie safe from being considered a complete flop. "The only reason this isn't a disaster is that it cost closer to the first X-Men than the last X-Men," Forbes explained.
While Morbius will definitely be a disappointment for Sony, the recent success of Venom: Let There Be Carnage and Spider-Man: No Way Home won't alter the company's future plans. While it's unlikely a Morbius sequel will happen, Kraven the Hunter and Madame Web should continue as planned.
Recently, Morbius director Daniel Espinosa spoke with ComicBook.com and commented on the film's negative reviews.
"I mean, I try not to," Espinosa said when asked if he gives a lot of weight to harsh reviews. "I just ask my friends to send me the ones that they think are clever. I mean, good or bad. And then I get a bunch of clever stuff and the stuff that my friends don't think is clever, maybe it's just healthy for me to read. So, it is that. You make a movie that is supposed to be public. I mean, it's part of the fundamental concept of what you're doing, but it's always very strange."
In addition to Leto, Morbius stars Adria Arjona, Jared Harris, Matt Smith, Tyrese Gibson, Al Madrigal, Corey Johnson, and Archie Renaux. Michael Keaton, who previously starred in Spider-Man: Homecoming as Vulture, is set to have a small role in the film as well. Morbius is directed by Daniel Espinosa, with a screenplay by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless. The Marvel Comics character was created by Roy Thomas and Gil Kane.
Morbius is now playing in theaters.