Morbius is at #1 in the domestic box office while The Batman crossed the $700 million worldwide mark.
In a weekend that is uniquely successful for comic book characters related to bats, Sony’s Morbius opened at #1 at the domestic box office. After nearly two years of delays, the Jared Leto film earned $39.1 million in its first three days. It also took in $44.9 million internationally, bringing its total worldwide to around $84 million. Meanwhile, in its fifth weekend, Warner Bros. Pictures’ The Batman was in third place, earned $10.8 million, bringing its U.S. domestic total to around $349 million and its worldwide total to $710.5 million worldwide.
Behind Morbius and ahead of The Batman, Paramount Pictures’ romantic comedy The Lost City starring Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum earned $14.8 million in its second weekend, bringing its respective total to $54.5 million domestically. Meanwhile, Sony’s Uncharted and Crunchyroll’s Jujutsu Kaisen 0: The Movie round out the top 5 this weekend.
It will be interesting to see how Morbius continues to perform at the box office, given that it has received mostly negative reviews from critics and a middling reception from audiences. This will be a true test to how much loyalty audiences have to Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, given that both of Tom Hardy’s Venom movies have been box office hits, and Sony is still high off of the record-breaking success of Spider-Man: No Way Home. To be fair, Morbius isn’t as well known of a character amongst audiences as Venom is, but Marvel is perhaps the biggest draw for mainstream audiences to go to the theater for, which is exhibited through the success of 2021’s Shang-Chi and Eternals, both of which feature lesser-known characters, but earned the benefit of the doubt from moviegoers that trust the brand of Marvel Studios.
In regards to The Batman, which is expected to hit HBO Max later this month, audiences have clearly responded quite well to Matt Reeves and Robert Pattinson’s reboot of the Caped Crusader. With numerous spinoff series in the works, including one centered on Colin Farrell’s Penguin, the future of this franchise is quite bright, and one should expect the sequel to be an even bigger success at the box office.
Here is the synopsis for Morbius:
One of Marvel’s most compelling and conflicted characters comes to the big screen as Oscar® winner Jared Leto transforms into the enigmatic antihero, Michael Morbius. Dangerously ill with a rare blood disorder, and determined to save others suffering his same fate, Dr. Morbius attempts a desperate gamble. What at first appears to be a radical success, a darkness inside him is unleashed and transforms this healer into a hunter.
Both Morbius and The Batman are playing in theaters. Stay tuned for all the latest news on the box office performances of both these films, and be sure to subscribe to Heroic Hollywood’s YouTube channel for more original video content.