Box Office: ‘Morbius’ Drives Stake Into No. 1 Spot With $38 Million Projected Opening

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” welcomed a boost in ticket sales at the international box office, though the third installment in the “Harry Potter” spinoff series already seems to be running out of steam.Over the weekend, “Fantastic Beasts 3” added $71.7 million from 66 foreign markets, taking the film’s international tally to $150.4 million. After debuting to a less-than-enchanting $43 million in North America, “The Secrets of Dumbledore” has collected $193.4 million to date.Along with United States and Canada, the Warner Bros.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore,” the third chapter in the “Harry Potter” spinoff series, collected a muted $43 million in its domestic box office debut.In pandemic times, those ticket sales were enough to lead this weekend’s box office charts and land one of the biggest North American openings in 2022. But it’s also a sign that magic is in short supply for J.K. Rowling’s lucrative and ever-expanding Wizarding World.

Though that result is on par with the $41 million opening of fellow Warner release “Dune” last October and the $44 million opening of Sony’s “Uncharted” in February, it is down 31% from the $62 million opening of the last “Fantastic Beasts” film, the ill-received “Crimes of Grindelwald” in 2018. Audience metrics for “Secrets of Dumbledore” have been somewhat better than for “Grindelwald” with a B+ on CinemaScore to go with a 4/5 from general audiences on Comscore/Screen Engine’s PostTrak and an 85% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

While industry estimates have the film potentially stretching to $44 million, which would equal what Sony’s “Uncharted” opened to in February, “Fantastic Beasts 3” had double the reported production budget at around $200 million. More importantly, the estimated opening is substantially down from the $62 million opening of “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald’ in 2018, which itself was down from the $74 million launch of the first “Fantastic Beasts” in 2016.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and Media“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore,” the latest attempt to expand J.K. Rowling’s wizarding world beyond Harry Potter, earned $6 million from Thursday previews.The production is on track to earn roughly $40 million in its opening weekend, which would be the weakest start for a Potter-adjacent movie. 2016’s “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” launched to $74 million in North America, while the 2018 follow-up “The Crimes of Grindelwald” bowed to  $62 million.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2” earned an excellent $71 million opening this weekend from 4,232 theaters, topping the $58 million launch of the first “Sonic” film in 2020 and setting opening records for video game adaptations and for lead star Jim Carrey. At a time when theaters have been looking for movies that can bring families back into the seats, “Sonic 2” delivered with parents and kids making up 58% of the opening weekend crowd — up from 49% for the first “Sonic” — with 67% under the age of 25.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” isn’t bewitching audiences, at least, compared to other films set in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.The latest chapter in the prequel saga, which takes place decades prior to the adventures of Harry, Ron and Hermione, opened at the international box office over the weekend and pulled in $58 million from 22 overseas markets. That’s a steep drop from 2018’s “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald,” the previous entry in the fantastical series, which collected a spell-bounding $191 million in its international debut.“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” opens in North America next weekend.

video-game-inspired flick grossed $26.5 million on its opening night, according to IMDB’s Box Office Mojo database.“Ambulance,” a Michael Bay thriller starring Jake Gyllenhaal, came next, grossing $3.2 million on its premiere.“Morbius,” the latest movie based on a Marvel Comics character, followed with $2.9 million Friday and $49.8 million cumulatively.

J. Kim Murphy As the box office opens two films featuring high-octane speedsters this weekend, one has emerged a clear victor.

By comparison, the first “Sonic” opened to $58 million and grossed $319 million worldwide before the pandemic cut its theatrical run short. “Sonic 2” should blow past that mark, as families and gamers have given it glowing audience acclaim with an A on CinemaScore and 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes to go with a 68% critics score.

Malin Andersson, star of Love Island 2016, has opened up to her fans about feeling trapped in a past relationship with a partner that was abusive towards her. New mum Malin, 29 - who gave birth to daughter Xaya in February, three years after the tragic death of her firstborn Consy - has released her first ever novel, Positivity Is Our Superpower, which touches upon various subjects of trauma and grief that she has been forced to endure in her life. As well as the heart-breaking loss of her daughter, the reality star has also detailed her struggle with domestic violence, which she suffered at the hands of ex-boyfriend Tom Kemp.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterAn animated movie about a blue, anthropomorphic speed demon is expected to outrace a Michael Bay action-thriller starring Jake Gyllenhaal and a Marvel comic book adaptation at the box office this weekend. Welcome to the chaotic state of moviegoing in 2022.Indeed, Paramount’s family friendly sequel “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” looks to sell more tickets in North American movie theaters than Universal’s starry high-speed heist film “Ambulance” and Sony’s antihero adventure “Morbius,” featuring Jared Leto.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefSix new films were released in South Korea in the past week, including Sony’s Marvel franchise title “Morbius,” but none were able to relieve the current malaise afflicting the Korean theatrical industry. “Morbius” was released on Wednesday and ran off with more than half of the nationwide business, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic).

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter“Morbius,” the latest comic book adventure from Sony’s Universe of Marvel Characters, opened in first place at the domestic box office, though ticket sales were considerably softer than recent superhero blockbusters.Dinged by comically terrible reviews, “Morbius” sunk its teeth into $39.1 million from 4,268 North American theaters in its first weekend of release. That initial tally is at once a sign that audiences truly love comic book movies (in pandemic times, a non-superhero film with a 17% on Rotten Tomatoes wouldn’t stand a chance at the box office) and an indication that not every superhuman character will be greeted equally on the big screen.

While nowhere near the levels seen with Sony’s “Venom” films, “Morbius” was made on a considerably lower budget than Tom Hardy’s antihero romp with a reported $75 million budget. The $39 million launch is just below independent projections of a $40 million range opening but above Sony’s much more conservative projections of $33 million, an opening posted by recent comic book movies “Birds of Prey” and “Dark Phoenix,” both of which had higher budgets than “Morbius.”But while “Morbius” is off to a solid start, the film’s reception scores have been mixed at best.

Morbius” — about a doctor who splices his DNA with a vampire, with predictable results — grossed $17.1 million in the U.S.

Such a result would be close to what trackers projected for “Morbius,” having predicted a start in the low $40 million range. Though Sony did have some sunk marketing costs for this film like many 2020 theatrical releases delayed by COVID-19, “Morbius” is significantly cheaper than other Marvel films the studio has released with a reported budget of $75 million.

The filmmakers and corporations behind Sony’s Marvel Comics adaptation Morbius (★☆☆☆☆) have had ample time to consider what they’re aiming for with this big-budget film intro for living vampire, and vintage Spider-Man nemesis, Dr. Michael Morbius.Namely they should have figured out by now whether their version of the character — portrayed in astonishingly muted fashion by Oscar-winner and accent devourer Jared Leto — exists in any known Spider-Man film universe, or maybe one that’s merely Spidey-adjacent, à la Venom.After half a decade and at least seven release date delays, moviegoers and Marvel fans (not mutually exclusive) also have had ample time to try to make sense of every hint in the marketing, and every detail of speculation.But the murky, mundane origin story that director Daniel Espinosa and credited writing team Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless have come up with treats making sense more as a perk than a prerequisite, so dial down expectations accordingly.Ultimately, Morbius is a setup — a long-winded prologue to some prospective later franchise entry, teased in the two underwhelming mid-credits sequences that will prolong this experience for many who would otherwise be ready to bolt by then. Strangely enough, the movie checks out first, practically stopping on a dime following a listless showdown between super-vampire-powered Morbius and friend-turned-foe Milo, played by past and perennial Dr.

“Kraven the Hunter” and “Madame Web” films.The studio is projecting that “Morbius” will make $33 million in its opening weekend against a $75 million budget. Independent trackers think it could go beyond that in its opening, perhaps in the $40-44 million range that Sony’s last blockbuster “Uncharted” hit earlier this year.