Morbius, the vampire superhero film starring Jared Leto, is the latest installment in the Spider-Man franchise, but it’s not doing as well at the box office as its predecessors.
The film had a US$39 million opening weekend, which is less than half the box office earnings of fellow Spider-Man spin-off Venom, which opened at $80 million, and the Venom sequel: Let There Be Carnage. collected $90 million.
In comparison, Spider-Man: Far From Home was the lowest opening for the latest three-film Spider-Man films at $92 million. However, Morbius is not a failure, especially when you consider its $75 million budget compared to Venom’s $100 million budget and Carnage’s $110 million budget. However, the soft opening doesn’t bode well for what Sony has identified as a deep well of Spider-Man-related comic book stories to be mined for movie fans.
Why Sony’s Spider-Man franchise doesn’t automatically deliver spin-off successes
Leto’s character first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man comic book in 1971 as Morbius, the living vampire, and became one of Spider-Man’s more common enemies. Eventually, Morbius became part of the Sinister Six, a group of super villains who hate Spider-Man including Doctor Octopus, Electro, Mysterio, Sandman, Vulture, and Kraven the Hunter.
These names will be familiar to longtime fans of the Spider-Man comics, but only a few will stand out for casual fans. This relative ambiguity could pose a challenge as Sony continues to attempt to build the Spider-Man cinematic universe (aka the Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters, or SPUMC).
Sony’s villains could be vying for fan attention alongside Disney, which has been an overall more successful Marvel partner both critically and financially. Disney’s latest roster of lesser-known Marvel characters will debut mostly via streaming TV. The Disney+ series Hawkeye and Moon Knight have been well received. And in June, Disney+ will debut Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk coming later this year on the same service.
How Morbius could create the next series of Spider-Man movies
In 2018, Venom made $856 million worldwide at the box office, a feat that immediately called for a sequel, which also grossed a respectable $502 million worldwide. For the Leto-led project to approach those numbers, the film would have to somehow shrug off scathing reviews from critics and a still-fragile post-pandemic cinema environment.
The only glimmer of hope for Morbius and a potential sequel is the fact that Venom was met with similarly tepid reviews, offset by stronger audience ratings. In the post-credits scene of Morbius [Warning: Spoilers ahead]meets vampire anti-hero Vulture (played by Michael Keaton), who first appeared in Spider-Man: Homecoming.
Vulture’s appearance alongside Morbius hints at a possible Sinister Six movie that was originally slated for 2016 and then canceled during an earlier iteration of the Spider-Man franchise. Despite this rocky storyline, the villain team-up movie could still be in-game depending on how Morbius fares in the coming weeks.