‘Morbius’ Plunges Record 83% As ‘The Batman’ Tops ‘Suicide Squad’

In holdover box office news for Friday, Morbius earned just $2.95 million on its second Friday, dropping a record (tied with Dark Phoenix for a “big” comic book movie) 83% from last Friday. We’re looking at a $9.9 million second-weekend gross, a record (again, for a big comic book superhero flick) 75% drop from last weekend’s $39 million debut. That’ll give the critically trashed Jared Leto-led Marvel movie a $57 million ten-day total, so at least It’ll pass Fantastic Four ($56 million) and Dark Phoenix ($65 million) for a likely over/under $72 million domestic finish. It’ll have around $129 million worldwide by tomorrow, so at least it’s going to eventually double its $75 million budget. Yes, the only reason this isn’t a disaster is that it cost closer to the first X-Men than the last X-Men.

As previously noted, that Morbius opened *after* Venom: Let There Be Carnage and Spider-Man: No Way Home means its artistic failure (and likely one-and-done status in terms of a solo franchise) is less of an issue for Sony’s Marvel plans. We may never get Morbius 2, but they can still use Jared Leto’s Dr. Michael Morbius as one of their eventual Sinister Six team if and when the time comes. However, this means Aaron Johnson’s Kraven the Hunter needs to deliver in January of 2023. While audiences wanted a Venom movie and were initially fine with a Morbius movie, the challenge with Kraven is that fans only really wanted him specifically as a Spider-Man baddie. Delivering an anti-hero origin story and promising to let him kick Peter Parker’s ass down the line might not cut it.

The Batman earned $1.73 million (-44%) on Friday to bring its domestic cume to $354.2 million and $726 million worldwide. That puts it above the $725 million global gross of Suicide Squad. So, yes, not a great weekend for Jared Leto (or Will Smith). Among all DC flicks, the $185 million, three-hour action drama sits behind Wonder Woman ($812 million), Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice ($873 million), The Dark Knight ($1.004 billion), Joker ($1.073 billion), The Dark Knight Rises ($1.084 billion) and Aquaman ($1.148 billion). Anyway, we can expect a $6.45 million (-41%) weekend for a new $359 million domestic cume, putting it a week away from passing Deadpool ($363 million) among solo non-sequel superhero flicks. It’s still looking like a $375 million domestic/$775 million worldwide finish for The Batman

The Lost City earned $2.565 million (-41%) on its third Friday, setting the stage for a likely $8.7 million (-40%) weekend and $69 million 17-day total. That’s a solid running cume for the $70 million Sandra Bullock/Channing Tatum rom-com adventure, but it’s still going to earn in 17 days what Sonic the Hedgehog 2 earned in three days. It’s looking like a $90 million finish, but I could easily see Paramount keeping this one in theaters forever, Spectre-style, to push it over $100 million. Meanwhile, Uncharted earned $730,000 (-28%) for a likely $2.66 million (-27%) weekend and $143 million cume. It’ll pass Detective Pikachu ($144 million) next weekend. Meanwhile, the Tollywood action epic RRR will earn $580,000 (-64%) in weekend three for a $13 million domestic total as it passes $130 million worldwide.

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