‘Morbius’: Sony Sinking Teeth This Weekend Into Deeper Part Of The Marvel Genre Canon – Box Office Preview

“The Batman” joins a list led by “Spider-Man: No Way Home” ($1.89 billion) and also includes the Chinese films “The Battle at Lake Changjin” ($902.5 million) and “Hi, Mom” ($822 million) as well as the James Bond movie “No Time to Die” ($774 million). “The incredible response we’ve seen at theaters across the country is a testament to both the enduring power of this iconic DC superhero and the huge appetite out there to experience great movies on the big screen,” said Warner domestic distribution head Jeff Goldstein in a statement.

J. Kim Murphy While the domestic box office is showing signs of life after an age of COVID lockdowns, it seems that not every film franchise is being buoyed by a return of theatergoers.”Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore,” Warner Bros.’ latest entry in its prequel series to the “Harry Potter” franchise, is off to a somewhat rocky start, projected to land a record low debut for a Wizarding World film.The third “Fantastic Beasts” earned $20.1 million on Friday and Thursday night previews from 4,753 North American locations, which marks the lowest opening day figure for a “Potter”-adjacent film.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterMichael Bay, the filmmaker behind “Armageddon,” “Pearl Harbor” and the “Transformers” franchise, was once the premier architect of big-budget explosive blockbusters. “Ambulance,” the director’s latest detonating action-thriller, proves times and tastes have changed in the days since mayhem and Autobots ruled the box office.Over the weekend, Universal’s “Ambulance,” a heist thriller that largely unfolds on an EMS vehicle, stalled out with $8.7 million from 3,412 North American theaters.

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.

Refresh for latest…: New blood in the form of Sony’s Jared Leto-fronted Morbius led the global box office this weekend with an $84M debut, while Paramount’s Sonic The Hedgehog 2 got off to a booming $25.5M start from its first 31 offshore markets. Warner Bros/DC also has something to crow about as The Batman topped $700M worldwide.

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.

J. Kim Murphy They say that a person should never invite a vampire into one’s house, but what about a vampire inviting a person into a movie theater? It seems that a modest amount of viewers are accepting that request, as Columbia Pictures’ “Morbius,” starring Jared Leto, is sinking its teeth into the domestic box office’s top spot with an opening weekend upwards of $38 million from 4,268 locations.That’s a fairly moderate opening figure for a film adapted from Marvel comics.

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.

“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.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and Media“Morbius,” Sony’s latest attempt to extend its cinematic universe of Spider-Man villains and heroes, opened to $5.7 million in Thursday previews. The $75 million superhero film is on track to pull in $40 million in its first weekend of release. It’s a sign of just how much moviegoers love comic book fare.

much of a movie, but it’s a movie nonetheless.Leto does indeed star as Michael Morbius, a world-renowned physician — talented enough to invent an artificial blood substitute, iconoclastic enough to turn down the Nobel Prize he won for the invention — who has grappled with blood-borne disease since childhood. With the financial support of lifelong friend and fellow patient Milo (Matt Smith), Michael has become a leader in his field, even as he branches out into morally questionable territory, exploring the possibility of grafting vampire-bat DNA with human DNA.Like “The Wasp Woman” and countless other cinematic mad scientists who tampered in God’s domain, Michael tries the experiment on himself, discovering both a cure (he’s strong, buff and can hang from the ceiling) and a curse (he transforms into a fanged creature starved for human blood).

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterAre superheroes impenetrable at the box office? Can any ol’ comic book character make a killing on the big screen?Sony’s antihero adventure “Morbius,” starring Jared Leto as Spider-Man’s eventual foe, will attempt to answer those questions when the vampire-infused horror movie opens in 3,600 North American theaters over the weekend.“Morbius” is estimated to sink its teeth into $40 million to $50 million in its first three days of release, according to independent tracking services. Sony, in an attempt to temper expectations around a newer Marvel character, is predicting a start closer to $33 million. Those ticket sales would be roughly in line with the Warner Bros.

The biggest box office hit of the COVID era added $1.7 million this weekend in theaters to join “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” and “Avengers: Endgame” as the only movies to hit that rare benchmark in the U.S. and Canada.

J. Kim Murphy After three weeks of “The Batman,” the domestic box office has a new leader.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefRoland Emmerich’s space action film “Moonfall” landed in South Korea at the top of the box office chart. But the country’s continuing COVID problems mean that “Moonfall” and all other titles operated at a desperately low orbit.As the biggest new release of the week Moonfall pushed aside Korean-made “In Our Prime,” the previous weekend’s winner.

A global pandemic which closed a majority of the world’s cinemas from 2020-21 just won’t keep large format exhibitor Imax down.

The Batman remains a hit.