Morbius was the beginning of the end for Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, but I didn’t truly understand just how badly it performed at the box office until comparing it to the few Marvel movies that made less. Now that Sony’s Spider-Man Universe is defunct, it’s probably safe to say that we probably won’t see any more of Dr. Michael Morbius as he appeared in his debut movie. Now, it could be that the only hope of seeing Morbius adapted once more into live-action is tied to the MCU and whatever deal Marvel Studios can strike with Sony.
Whatever the case, it is safe to say that Morbius’s reputation has been tarnished by the failures of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe. Although Morbius wasn’t irredeemable, it remains one of the lowest-rated superhero movies ever made, heralding the downfall of the franchise after Venom and Venom: Let There Be Carnage set the franchise on a decent trajectory. Unfortunately, the disfavor Morbius drew is reflected in its box office take-home, a result that is only compounded when considering worse-performing movies.
Morbius’ Infamous Reputation Resulted In It Having One Of Marvel’s Lowest Box Offices
Morbius Didn’t Fare Well Critically
Like many other stars of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, Morbius suffered in part for the fact that it featured a Spider-Man-adjacent character without Spider-Man featuring at all. This state of affairs was exacerbated by what many perceived as a dishonest marketing campaign, with references to Spider-Man appearing in the Morbius trailer that ultimately did not materialize. This was underpinned by the movie itself being largely underwhelming, culminating in a cascade of mocking memes.
The sheer number of memes based on Morbius infamously led to the movie being re-released, only to fail once more at the box office.
Although Morbius was far from the worst movie in Sony’s cinematic franchise, with some fans praising the action sequences and Morbius’s character design, this all led to the movie grossing just $163 million worldwide according to The Numbers. Against a budget of $75 million, this made Morbius Sony’s first of three flops in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe. By comparison, the MCU’s lowest-grossing movie, The Marvels, grossed $200 million, although this was arguably a far worse result against a budget of $270 million. Still, comparing Morbius to movies that grossed less paints a dismal picture.
Looking At The Marvel Movies That Did Worse At The Box Office Underlines How Low Morbius’ Results Were
Many Movies Are Much Older And Less Publicized
Morbius was, of course, followed by two worse-performing installments of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe when Madame Web and Kraven the Hunter grossed just $100 million and $60 million worldwide, respectively, with the latter hammering the final nail in the coffin for the franchise. Nevertheless, these movies were released after Morbius had already shaken faith in the franchise, forcing them to face an uphill struggle. Of the remaining Marvel movies that grossed less than Morbius, however, the vast majority were older and were released with far less box office expectations. Some of the better-known examples include:
- Blade II (2002) – $154 million
- Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2012) – $149 million
- Elektra (2005) – $57 million
- The Punisher (2004) – $54 million
- The New Mutants (2020) – $48 million
- Punisher: Warzone (2008) – $10 million
The majority of these installments are considered some of the worst superhero movies ever released, which goes to show how poorly Morbius performed critically. Nevertheless, even though Blade II grossed nearly $10 million less than Morbius, the fact that it was released two decades before Morbius means that its $154 million take-home was actually a huge success at the time. Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance was also considered a box office success against a production budget of $57 million.
Why Morbius’ Box Office Results Are Lower Than Most Other Marvel Movies
Morbius Was Too Obscure And The Timing Was Wrong
Looking at Morbius‘ box office results compared to other Marvel movies proves just how much of an outlier it is. This is due to a variety of factors, most obviously including the fact that Morbius is a particularly obscure character whose solo venture was released during a time when fervor surrounding superhero movies was beginning to subside. The Marvels suffered a similar fate in 2003 for similar reasons, as knowledge surrounding two of the three тιтular heroes was predicated on watching two Disney+ shows.
While movie delays aren’t always indicative of lower quality, it is rarely seen as a good sign among many audiences, helping to sour sentiments on the movie before it has even been released.
Unlike The Marvels, however, Morbius suffered far worse critically in its opening weekend. This severely hampered its chances in subsequent weeks due to low expectations, which were already lowered by the several delays leading up to its release. While movie delays aren’t always indicative of lower quality, it is rarely seen as a good sign among many audiences, helping to sour sentiments on the movie before it has even been released.
Source: The Numbers
