This past weekend’s box office results saw an impressive performance for Sonic the Hedgehog 2, as well as a somewhat lackluster opening for the latest Michael Bay film Ambulance. In-between those pillars of new releases, the second weekend for Marvel/Sony’s Morbius has a rather interesting story to tell. While its second weekend grosses plunged, Jared Leto’s bloodsucking offering isn’t a total disaster in the realm of current and upcoming Marvel movies.
Just How Far Did Morbius Plunge At The Box Office?
Based on reporting/number crunching by Forbes, director Daniel Espinosa’s MCU adjacent movie took quite a tumble. Last Friday alone, Morbius brought in only $2.95 million in domestic grosses for that day alone, tying Dark Phoenix's record setting dip of 83%. The picture is a bit rosier when looking at the total weekend’s grosses, as our box office report saw an estimated $10.2 million falling into Sony’s pockets. Compared to Morbius’s $39.1 million opening weekend, that would indicate a 74% drop for the full weekend’s take.
It looks like bad news if you’re comparing this particular project to the standard performance of comic book movies. While those films do tend to shed a sizable percentage of audiences after opening weekend, this sort of drop is still pretty significant. Even when compared to the second weekend for Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Morbius looks to have fallen quite mightily. However, from a certain point of view, this bat has accomplished as flying feat that should soften this weekend’s monetary blow to a degree.
Why Morbius Might Not Be A Box Office Disaster
It's good news time for you folks hoping Jared Leto will once again return to the world of Morbius. While the news discussed above pertains to the domestic box office, the worldwide grosses look pretty promising. $126.4 million is the current standing total in the bank, meaning that Sony’s latest Spider-Man connected property is very close to doubling its production budget.
For reference, the movie’s price tag is in the range of between $75 - $83 million, which sets up a $150 - $166 million threshold to double its money. Of course, that doesn’t give us the exact figure that Sony and Marvel may have on paper to consider Morbius a profitable venture. Under normal circumstances, backend expenses like print and advertising, as well as a number of other factors unknown to the public at large, need to be considered.
But let’s not forget that much like other COVID-19 delayed films, this is a title that was subject to several delays to its ultimate opening. Just as No Time To Die incurred about $1 million in additional costs for each month it sat on the shelf, one could assume that Morbius has a specific figure it racked up in a similar manner. Using that figure as a rough benchmark, and taking into account its intended July 10, 2020 debut and the April 1, 2022 date it finally landed, about $21 million may need to be added to the equation.
Again, that’s not an exact figure, as James Bond movies tend to be more expensive, with more moving pieces to account for in the budgetary pie. Morbius may not have as much weight on its shoulders, and we’ll have to wait and see how Morbius’ fortunes progress in the weeks to come. If you haven’t seen it for yourself, or have a notion to revisit Matt Smith’s bonkers performance, the film is exclusively showing in theaters. To catch a glimpse of what other excitement waits in the wings, head over to our schedule of 2022 movie releases, and quench your thirst for cinema!
