Morbius is the newest Marvel film to debut in theaters, and its opening weekend projections have finally been released. This Jared Leto film will follow the titular character as he gets newfound abilities that turn him turn into a living vampire.
Morbius has a very high uphill battle. He’s a brand-new character in a universe that is critiqued by many, and it is also a standalone film in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe. In the world of Marvel, many people are looking forward to the crossovers the most. Following the Avengers movie, the idea of having multiple heroes together in the same film is something that many now gravitate towards.
Based on early estimates, Morbius is a film that is expected to have a successful debut. However, these numbers may look slightly lower to some in comparison to other comic book films. Per Variety, independent tracking services say Morbius is projected to make $40-50 million this weekend. For comparison, Venom: Let There Be Carnage and Spider-Man: No Way Home earned $90 million and $260 million opening weekends, respectively. Sony is predicting closer to $33 million for Morbius’ opening weekend, likely in an attempt to temper expectations.
$40 million would still successful for Morbius, despite the insane numbers that other films have been doing as of late. The film’s estimated budget was around $75 million, so it just needs one or two more weeks after the opening to ideally make that back, excluding marketing costs. If it doesn’t get a high profit, that should be fine as long as the film doesn’t come out as a loss for the studio.
Having a film with only one character is challenging, and it’s also starting to become less realistic give how connected and vast the world of Marvel is. Cameos are very common now in an industry where they used to be far and few between. Morbius will narratively be able to pull this off, but it also goes without saying that it could’ve been much easier had there been another major Marvel character aside from Michael Keaton’s Vulture. Still, it’s the better option to have Morbius focus on one character, so fans can see what the allure is for him.
The Morbius trailers make the film look really dark, and it seems to be staying close to the source material. This is a very good sign, as it would be a shame if this film was made in the form of a comedy or something like Guardians of the Galaxy. Hopefully it’s worth the wait.
Morbius will be out in theaters on April 1st, 2022.
Source: Variety
