When Spider-Man: No Way Home was released last December, it broke all manner of box office records. You have to believe Sony Pictures was looking to follow the threequel's success by delivering another hit with Morbius, but it underperformed last weekend in the midst of negative reviews.
Poor word of mouth from regular moviegoers (it was awarded a C- CinemaScore) didn't help matters, which is evident from an embarrassing new record for the Living Vampire.
According to Forbes, Morbius' $2.95 million Friday marked a massive 83% drop, tying it with 2019's Dark Phoenix. With an estimated $9.9 million weekend haul, that 73.9% decline means it has the dubious honour of delivering the biggest drop for a second weekend of any Marvel Comics adaptation, beating both that final X-Men movie and even 2015's Fantastic Four.
Of course, Morbius had a fairly strong start and that's stopped it from being completely written off as a flop. However, with a $57 million domestic haul and a $126 million global total, the movie is still a long way off from turning a profit. It cost between $75 million and $83 million to produce, but that doesn't include marketing and various other costs. With that in mind, don't bank on a sequel.
"Jared Leto’s transformation makes for compelling viewing," we said in our review last month, "but the Living Vampire can’t elevate a disappointing story that serves as a powerful, dare we say terrifying, reminder that Spider-Man is better off (and safer) in the MCU with Marvel Studios."
Do you think Morbius deserved to be a hit at the box office?
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