Why Morbius Is Returning To Theaters (Will It Actually Work?)

Sony has decided to re-release Morbius in theaters on the weekend of June 3, 2022 – but why? And will it actually benefit the movie?

Although Morbius was panned by critics and audiences, Sony is re-releasing it in theaters – but what prompted this decision, and will it actually benefit the film (and the studio)? While the Marvel Cinematic Universe keeps expanding, Sony’s Spider-Man Universe is also continuing its course with more movies focused on some of Spider-Man’s most notable antagonists, and after the popularity of Venom, the latest character to join this universe was Morbius (Jared Leto).

Directed by Daniel Espinosa, Morbius introduced Dr. Michael Morbius, a scientist suffering from a rare blood disease. In an attempt to cure himself, Morbius came up with an experiment in which he spliced the genes of bats with his, and even though it worked, it also left him with a form of vampirism. If that wasn’t already an inconvenience, Morbius’ surrogate brother, Milo (Matt Smith), also took the cure against Morbius’ advice and went on a killing spree in order to feed. Morbius received negative reviews and was constantly mocked online… and yet, it’s getting a new chance.

In May 2022, Morbius regained some online popularity thanks to a number of memes making fun of the movie, its disappointing story, bad box office performance, as well as its negative reviews. All these memes led to Morbius 2 trending online as audiences jokingly asked for a sequel and to Sony seizing this new “interest” in Morbius and deciding to re-release it in theaters over the weekend of June 3, 2022. Unsurprisingly, this has led to even more mockery online as the memes didn’t exactly go viral with the intention of prompting Sony to give Morbius a second chance, but could this decision actually help Morbius’ numbers and maybe its future in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe?

Will Morbius’ Re-Release Be A Success?

Morbius reportedly had a budget between $75 and 83 million, which isn’t a big number considering it’s a superhero movie, from Sony’s Spider-Man universe, and taking into account the budgets of recent superhero movies. Unfortunately, Morbius grossed $73 million domestically and $163.3 million worldwide, but for a movie to make a healthy profit, it has to make three times its budget, meaning that Morbius is close to its breakeven point. Now, while Sony most likely expects to earn what it needs to break even through Morbius’ re-release, this might be tricky. Although Morbius has been the source of countless jokes, that doesn’t mean the audience is interested in watching the movie again, and with it now available on digital, it’s unlikely it will get the audience that Sony needs to earn those extra millions.

As for a sequel to Morbius, if it is in Sony’s plans, it’s likely that the studio is looking for the movie to break even before greenlighting a second one. Morbius’ case is very different from that of Venom, which was also negatively received by critics but was a success with the audience, which allowed it to continue with Venom: Let There Be Carnage and the upcoming Venom 3. The seemingly endless memes about Morbius aren’t proof that the audience wants more of it, and while the ending of Morbius left the door open for the character’s return, its story and post-credits scenes made no sense, making it quite easy for Sony and the audience to forget it even happened. Morbius could reach the numbers it needs to break even during its re-release, but that doesn’t necessarily guarantee Sony greenlighting Morbius 2.