Morbius’ theatrical release was a relative disappointment that was made worse by the fact that Sony Pictures re-released the film following a series of social media memes regarding the film that went viral. The re-release proved to be another embarrassment but it looks like Jared Leto’s vampire is getting a win. It would appear that Morbius has topped the VOD charts at flopping in theaters.
According to figures released by Fandango, Morbius topped the VOD charts for the week ending June 19, beating films like The Batman, The Bad Guys, and Everything Everywhere All At Once. It should be noted that some of those films have been available for a while on-demand but Sony needs to claim any victory they can when it comes to Morbius so I feel like we should give them this one.
According to Forbes, after being re-released in 1,037 theaters, Morbius could only muster up $85,000 on its first Friday which led to a weekend total of $280,000. Even with the re-release, the film could still not match its $75 million budget domestically, tapping out with $73.8 million. Things look less embarrassing when you look at its $163.8 million global take but, even with a slim $75 million budget, Sony likely took a loss on Morbius given marketing costs and all of the delays due to COVID. Any success it can find via on-demand is welcomed by the studio.
I can see Morbius being a bigger player at home but not because anyone is seeking to see if it’s good. I have a lot of friends who have already had their very own Mystery Science 3000 viewings to mock the movie and I suspect many others are doing the same. Morbius may eventually find itself in the so bad, it’s good category, and, who knows, it might become a kind of cult classic in a weird way. Only time will tell.
Why do YOU think Morbius is performing so week on VOD?