Morbius is a major streaming hit on Prime Video. Directed by Daniel Espinosa, with a script written by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless, the third film in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe follows the тιтular Dr. Michael Morbius (played by Jared Leto) and his surrogate brother, Milo (Matt Smith), as they transform into living vampires after using a cure for a rare blood disorder.
Morbius‘ cast includes the Oscar-winning Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club), Emmy nominee Matt Smith (The Crown), Adria Arjona, two-time Emmy nominee Jared Harris (Mad Men, Chernobyl), Al Madrigal, Tyrese Gibson, Corey Johnson, and Michael Keaton in a cameo appearance during the mid-credits scene as Vulture, reprising his role from the MCU’s Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017).
Now, three years after its release, Morbius ranks fifth on Prime Video’s Top 10 movies in the United States for today, October 1, where it has been for a total of seven days. It ranks below A Working Man, Love Hurts, Novocaine, Trolls Band Together, and above Wicked, Burner, The Map That Leads to You, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and Eli Manning Presents: The Undercovers.
Morbius is also streaming on Disney+.
What Morbius’ Streaming Success Means For The Movie
Morbius was a mᴀssive critical and commercial flop in April 2022. The movie was eviscerated by critics, resulting in a terrible 15% Rotten Tomatoes score, with Morbius‘ reviews criticizing everything from its lackluster special effects, dull performances, and nearly incoherent plot, resulting in a futile attempt to bring the character of Michael Morbius to the big screen.
The movie earned just $167.5 million at the box office and failed to break even against its $75-83 million budget. Morbius also quickly became the target of internet memes ridiculing its reception and quality. The memes gained so much traction that Sony re-released the movie in theaters the following June, only for it to flop once again.
Our Take On Morbius’ Streaming Success
Amazingly, Morbius was followed by two more SSU movies that flopped even harder. Madame Web (2024) made only $100 million at the box office and earned an even worse 10% Rotten Tomatoes score. Kraven the Hunter (2024), which also has a 15% Rotten Tomatoes score, made just $62 million.
After this truly terrible trio of flops, it’s good news that the SSU is effectively ᴅᴇᴀᴅ. Nobody asked for a series of half-baked spin-offs without Spider-Man, and audiences responded accordingly. Thankfully, Sony seems to have learned its lesson and has shifted its focus back to projects featuring Spider-Man himself, such as the upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
