Sony Group’s hot run of comic-book films showed its limits after "Morbius,” a dark movie with an antihero, delivered less than half of the opening weekend ticket sales of last year’s "Venom: Let There Be Carnage.”
The movie, which tells the origin story of villain Doctor Michael Morbius, generated $39.1 million in U.S. and Canadian ticket sales, Sony said in an email Sunday. That was below the $40.2 million that researcher BoxOffice.com had forecast. Sony projected $33 million going into the weekend before upping its forecast to as much as $41.5 million on Saturday.
"Morbius” trailed the opening weekend of Warner Bros. gritty "The Batman,” which took in $128.5 million in its domestic debut last month, as well that of Sony’s "Venom” sequel, which brought in $90.1 million last year. Sony’s "Spider-Man: No Way Home” grossed a pandemic-era record of $260 million in its December opening weekend.
Key Insights
Just 17% of critics recommended "Morbius” according to review aggregator site RottenTomatoes.com, with one critic calling it a "huge letdown.” Audiences were more generous, giving it a score of about 69%. The film, which saw its original summer 2020 release date delayed several times due to the pandemic, was only available in theaters.
Sony developed "Morbius” in collaboration with Walt Disney Co.’s Marvel unit. Oscar-winner Jared Leto stars in the first time the character has appeared in a film. "Morbius” had a modest -- by superhero film standards -- budget of $75 million.
Superhero films have been the one dependable draw during the pandemic, attracting an audience of older children and young adults that were more comfortable than others returning to cinemas.
Future April debuts include "Sonic the Hedgehog 2” from Paramount and "Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” from AT&T Inc.’s Warner Bros., as the industry continues its return to theaters and tests filmgoers appetites for doing the same.
