With $17.1 million on Friday, Sony’s poorly-reviewed anti-hero filmMorbiusis looking at a $38 million three-day debut. The studio’s conservative estimates, which were placed at around $33 million after the film’s $5.7 million haul inThursday previews, have been increased, but only slightly. Overall projections, however, have come tumbling down. Just yesterday, some were anticipating an upper-limit of $50 million.
This is a mediocre start to the film, but respectable, if you consider some context. Unlike most movies of this size, and especially those that have the Marvel branding slapped on every piece of marketing material,Morbiushas opened totoxic reviews—probably as bad as they can get.Not just critics, even the audiences seem to be rather disapproving of the film; they gave it a C+ CinemaScore.
Directed byDaniel Espinosaand starringJared Letoas the Living Vampire,Morbius’ Friday haul fell short of the opening day totals posted by the two previous entries in Sony’s ever-expanding universe of Spider-Man films. 2018’sVenommade $32 million on its Friday, as it headed toward a then-record $80.2 million opening weekend. Last year’sVenom: Let There Be Carnagedid even better; the film made $37 million on its first day, for a $90 million three-day debut. To put things in perspective,Morbiusis looking at an opening weekend haul just slightly higher than whatVenom 2made on its first day. Of course, no comparisons can be made toSpider-Man: No Way Home, which broke records upon its December release, and now finds itself tied to this film.
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Nevertheless, Sony is chugging forward with its own Marvel universe, building toward what appears to be a Sinister Six movie (as it has been threatening to sinceAndrew Garfield’s days as Spider-Man). AKraven the Hunterfilm starringAaron Taylor-Johnsonis currently in production under the direction of Oscar nomineeJ.C. Chandor.
After topping the chart last weekend, Paramount’sThe Lost Cityslipped to number two. StarringSandra Bullock,Channing TatumandDaniel Radcliffe, the film is expected to make $14.6 million this weekend, after a $4.2 million second Friday. The film’s running domestic total now stands at just under $55 million, marking the second hit of the year for Tatum afterDog, and the third hit of the year for Paramount, afterScreamandJackass Forever.
DirectorMatt Reeves’ three-hour, noir-infused superhero epicThe Batmanslipped to the number three slot, after performing exceedingly well over the last month. With an estimated $11.2 million in its fifth weekend, the film’s running domestic total stands at just under $350 million. Internationally, the film is closing in on the $700 million mark.
Coming in at number four, Sony’s quietly successfulUnchartedadaptation is estimated to add another $3.7 million in its seventh weekend, for a running domestic total of just under $140 million. LikeThe Batman, the film underperformed in China due to a new wave of the coronavirus. The top five was rounded out by Crunchyroll’sJujutsu Kaisen 0.The film is expected to add another $1.9 million to its tally, taking its domestic total to a stellar $31 million.
Next week, Paramount will hope to post its fourth theatrical win of the year withSonic the Hedgehog 2, which faces off against Universal’s male-skewing action pictureAmbulance, directed byMichael Bay. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
