Having been lulled into a false sense of security by the increasingly popular memes that have been circulating on social media the past couple of weeks, Sony Pictures decided to take advantage of the perceived interest in Morbius by re-releasing the Jared Leto-led Marvel Comics adaptation across 1000 screens in North America this weekend, while Leto himself even got in on the fun with the following video teasing Morbius 2: It’s Morbin’ Time:
What time is it? pic.twitter.com/IuWR72WCc9
— JARED LETO (@JaredLeto) June 3, 2022
Well, it’s seems it’s not actually Morbin’ Time at all, as Friday’s box office numbers are in and Morbius only managed to gross $85,000, making it perhaps the first movie in history to tank twice in the same year. According to projections from Forbes, the Daniel Espinosa-helmed Spider-Man spinoff will only earn around $280,000 at best over the weekend, which will do little to boost the $73.3 million it grossed in North America upon its release.
Worldwide, Morbius has earned just $163.4 million from a budget in the region of $75 million. Ordinarily that would be the death knell for a franchise, but in a world where Sony is greenlighting Madame Web and El Muerto movies in an effort to build out its shared Marvel universe, don’t be surprised if that’s enough to get Leto’s Living Vampire back for Morbius 2: It’s Morbin’ Time Part 1 and Part 2 (later retitled Morbius 3: Morbin’ Enough).
SEE ALSO: Read our review of Morbius here
One of Marvel’s most compelling and conflicted characters comes to the big screen as Oscar winner Jared Leto transforms into the enigmatic antihero Michael Morbius. Dangerously ill with a rare blood disorder and determined to save others suffering his same fate, Dr. Morbius attempts a desperate gamble. While at first it seems to be a radical success, a darkness inside him is unleashed. Will good override evil – or will Morbius succumb to his mysterious new urges?
Morbius sees Daniel Espinosa (Safe House) directing a cast that includes Jared Leto (Suicide Squad) as Dr. Michael Morbius, Adria Arjona (Pacific Rim Uprising) as Martine Bancroft, Matt Smith (Doctor Who) as Milo, Jared Harris (The Terror) as Morbius’ mentor, Michael Keaton (Spider-Man: Homecoming) as The Vulture and Tyrese Gibson (Fast & Furious) as an FBI agent.
Originally published June 4, 2022. Updated June 5, 2022.
