Who would have thought a film that failed as badly as Morbius could keep cropping up in the news over two months after release? Not only did Sony's Marvel flick prove to be hated by critics and fans alike, but it also ended up being among the biggest box office failures in Marvel history - the movie grossed only $163 million worldwide (to date).
Even with Morbius' theatrical run concluded and the film now available to be watched at home, Jared Leto's Marvel debut continues to break the news. Sony's latest flop has developed into something of a viral trend as it has been widely meme for the fake "It's Morbin' Time" line - even major brands like KFC and GFUEL got in on the joke.
Most recently, Leto jokingly teased a sequel called Morbius 2: It's Morbin' Time, sparking fears that a follow-up may actually be green-lit. These concerns were only furthered when Sony just re-released Morbius in over 1000 theaters over the weekend. But, if the box office results of the re-release are any indication, fans shouldn't be worried about seeing Morbius 2 anytime soon.
Sony Trolled as Morbius Reopening Flops
According to Luiz Fernando, Morbius once again flopped at the box office on Friday as it reopened in over 1000 theaters after becoming a viral meme.
Sony's Marvel flick grossed just $85,000 on Friday, June 3, the first day of its reopening, bringing Morbius' domestic total to just $73.4 million. The Numbers revealed the disappointing reopening resulted in an average of just $82 per theater, which, depending on ticket prices, amounts to less than 10 moviegoers per theater.
Fans across Twitter have trolled Sony for its decision to reopen Morbius, which already flopped the first time around.
Forbes' Scott Mendelson shared the box office stats and pointed out how this proves once again "that social media is not the real world:"
"Friday #BoxOffice: #Morbius Bombs Again With $85,000, Again Proving (For The 10,000th Time) That Social Media Is *Not* The Real World!!"
@Zakiyyah6 retweeted Mendelson's initial post and suggested Sony "take any money they made off of Morbius and run:"
"People didn't like Morbius. The word of mouth is bad. Why would this theater expansion save it? Memes are memes. Sony should take any money they made off of Morbius and run because a sequel will do half of what the first did if they are lucky."
@ManyATrueNerd joked that fans should avoid seeing Morbius in theaters, then resume talking about it once it leaves again to "string Sony along for at least 2 more re-releases:"
"Ok, it's really critical that NOBODY goes to see Morbius now it's actually back in cinemas. Then as soon as it's back out of cinemas, immediately start talking about it again. I think we can string Sony along for at least 2 more re-releases."
@NazoXIII proposed that Morbius may be the first film to "bomb twice at the box office:"
"Morbius is about to be the first movie to bomb twice at the box office. You caused this, Twitter."
@Mr_Evertz responded to a Twitter post about the box office data, sharing their disbelief that "a studio would do something as stupid as this:"
"I’m not surprised at this outcome and I cannot believe a studio would do something as stupid as this."
@untimelygamer pointed out what should have been obvious to Sony, being that "Morbius became a meme because everybody hated it, not because of real interest:"
"This is hilarious. Though what was Sony thinking? Morbius became a meme because everybody hated it, not because of real interest. Even a cursory scroll through Twitter would prove that."
So, Does this Rule Out Morbius 2?
Sony has clearly decided to lean into Morbius' viral status with this re-release after cracking jokes about the famous "It's Morbin' Time" meme. The studio was clearly relying on these memes to carry Morbius to a box office comeback but failed to realize that fans were laughing at the film, not with it.
The attempted reopening may well have been a test to see if these memes would be able to make Morbius 2 viable, but this logic was flawed in itself. After all, memes come and go every week; by the time a sequel could be written, filmed, and released, Morbius would be back to being just another terrible Marvel film.
Currently, Morbius has grossed just $163 million worldwide, on a production budget of $75 million. That budgetary figure doesn't even include the marketing costs, which will no doubt be upwards of $100 million for a film that has been promoted multiple times due to its many delays.
With all of this in mind, Morbius has probably lost Sony plenty of money, which makes it hard to imagine that the studio would look to develop a sequel. Then again, this is the same studio that decided to re-open a failed film and green-lit Bad Bunny's El Muerto - a character with only two comic appearances - so nothing can be ruled out.
Even if Jared Leto's Morbius doesn't earn a sequel, that's not to say the character won't return in other projects. The Marvel Vampire was last seen teaming up with Michael Keaton's Vulture, which may set them both up as members of a future Sinister Six team.
Alternatively, fans have already created edits of Jared Leto and Tom Hardy's Marvel characters facing off against each other - why not make this a reality? Who wouldn't be flocking to theaters to see Venom v Morbius: Dawn of Sinister?
Only time will tell what the future holds for Leto's Vampire hero. For now, Morbius is playing once again in theaters if, for some reason, you feel like doing that to yourself.
