Jared Leto’s new movie Morbius took in $39.1-M from 4,268 theaters in its domestic box office debut, in line with expectations after lukewarm reviews. Globally, it took in $84-M.
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.
Insiders stress that Morbius is not a traditional superhero offering, but a dark, genre thriller revolving around a vampire.
Morbius cost a reported $75-M 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%), while nearly 70% of ticket buyers were between ages 18-34.
Morbius holds just a 17% 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%.
Morbius won the weekend, both domestically and internationally. So far, there is no talk of a sequel.
Paramount’s The Lost City, starring Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum, came in #2 domestically in its second frame with $14.8-M for a North American haul of $54.6-M. It has only rolled out in 17 markets so far overseas for an early foreign total of $7-M and $61.6-M worldwide.
The big player for Paramount overseas was Sonic the Hedgehog 2, which is rolling out in select markets ahead of its 8 April domestic launch. Sonic 2 opened to to $25.5-M in ticket sales from 31 markets.
Have some fun, see a movie in a theater, the chaos is over, Keep the Faith!
