As reported by Variety, the cinematic debut of the living vampire was solid if unspectacular with $39 million made in its three-day debut in local theaters and nearly $45 million on the international market, bringing its worldwide total to over $83 million. This is more than the $75 million that Sony spent on the film. Unfortunately, it isn’t all good news. Although the Sony Spider-Man Universe wasn’t always a critical darling, Morbius brought new lows to the budding cinematic universe. 2018’s Venom and 2021’s Venom: Let there be Carnage pulled in 30% and 58%, respectively, on the review aggregator site, Rotten Tomatoes. Meanwhile, Morbius, the third film in the SSMU, got a 17% score. Having said that, the mixed reception to Morbius should give Sony reason to pause and reconsider its next moves before fully diving into other comic book endeavors. At the moment, Sony is working on a handful of films for the SSMU, including the Aaron Taylor-Johnson-led Kraven the Hunter live-action adaptation and a Madame Web film starring Dakota Johnson and Sydney Sweeney. As Sony builds towards a Sinister Six film, Morbius is expected to return in future titles. Unfortunately, with such a low first outing, Sony might no longer want to re-invest in another solo film with Leto in the lead. Then again, if Morbius can double its entire budget throughout its theatrical run, Sony might reconsider as last month’s Uncharted, which wasn’t a critical darling, is all but confirmed to be getting a sequel. For now, the few fans who liked Morbius will just have to wait for Sony to announce any plans for the living vampire. It will be interesting to see if Morbius can keep up with Michael Bay’s Ambulance and Paramount Pictures’ Sonic the Hedgehog 2 in its second weekend.
