Morbius Movies Netflix

Morbius Flopped in Theaters, But It’s Finding Success in Streaming


One of the more interesting superhero movie releases of 2022 was Sony's Morbius. An entry in their still amorphous Sony Universe of Marvel Characters, the film was largely reviled by critics. That visibly cut it off at the knees when it came to the box office, but the movie seems to be sucking tons of blood elsewhere.


From video on demand to hitting big on Netflix, Morbius is doing way better than such a "flop" has any right. That brings to question just hated the movie was by actual audiences and whether time and memes have been more favorable to it. In the end, it seems that Sony's newest Marvel Legend may become a success after all.

It's Morbin' Time on Netflix and VOD


Since hitting the Netflix streaming platform, Morbius has consistently been one of its best-performing films in terms of views. It was consistently in the Top 10 of Netflix programming, ranking as the #2 film on the platform. Its consistent views saw it stave off all kinds of TV shows and movies, including The Crown, another program with actor Matt Smith.

Morbius had previously done well when it came to video-on-demand performance, in which consumers actually paid to download and watch it. That shows that, box office aside, film fans were willing and ready to pay and watch Morbius, with its Netflix performance not simply being because it's "free" on the platform. While this won't erase its disappointing box office haul, it could point to Morbius' reputation not remaining as bad as it was in April 2022.

Audiences Seem to Be Coming Around on Morbius


The critical score for Morbius on Rotten Tomatoes is a mere 15 percent, but its audience rating is much higher, currently sitting at 71 percent. The divergence between critical and audience reception is somewhat similar to fellow Sony movie, Venom. However, that wasn't savaged quite as much as Morbius and made a fortune more at the box office. Still, audiences don't seem to hate Morbius nearly as much as its reputation would suggest, with many now looking back and seeing the movie as tepid at worst. Sure, it isn't a great movie, but it's certainly better than many were led to believe.

Of course, this may all be tempered by said audiences not paying for a full-price ticket in a crowded theater to watch the film, making their experience better than those who saw Morbius when it first released. And it's just as unlikely that another re-release of the movie in theaters following Sony's embarrassing first attempt to cash in on memes would work, either. Unfortunately, Morbius is unlikely to make "Morbillion" dollars, but it seems that Netflix users are more than happy to experience the film at home.


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MARVEL Morbius Movies Wolverine

Morbius Director Reveals How Jared Leto's Hero Relates to Wolverine & Magneto



Sony's Morbius is a film fans know both everything about yet nothing at all. Morbius debuted its first teaser over two years ago, which included the shocking reveal of Michael Keaton reprising his role as Adrian Toomes from Spider-Man: Homecoming. Future Morbius trailers would double down on the connection confusion, showcasing The Amazing Spider-Man's Oscorp logo, Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man on an alleyway poster, and a catchphrase nod to Tom Hardy's Venom.

While most of this film's hype is centered around Morbius' surroundings, star Jared Leto has emphasized there's plenty of reason to get excited about his living vampire. Leto has noted the "transformational" nature of Morbius is what attracted him to the character, and he's eager to portray a role that teeters the "superhero, supervillain" line.

Achieving that balance between good and evil will be a driving force of the Morbius narrative, which the film's director and leading star have emphasized ahead of the film's incoming release.

Morbius's Rank Among Marvel Anti-Heroes


The new Marvel legend is already being compared to immortalized icons.

In Sony Pictures's official Morbius production release, director Daniel Espinosa stressed the importance of the titular character's "anti-hero" vibe, naming Marvel greats like "Magneto, Rogue, [and] Wolverine" that also shined due to towing that line.

“Most great heroes are antiheroes. Most of us are resistant to accept that we are the chosen one, and Morbius is the same. The most interesting characters in the Marvel universe have always been those that have had one foot on each side: Magneto, Rogue, Wolverine, in his own way, Venom. All of these characters are the ones that are fundamentally the most fascinating for us as moviegoers and comic book readers.”

That "one foot on each side" will be especially difficult for Morbius to maintain, but not due to evil temptations. Espinosa noted Morbius's selfless nature is in the driver's seat, while the living vampire inside fights for control.

“Michael Morbius is one of the most altruistic characters of the Marvel Universe. He’s one of the few that really believes in good. This good man has a horrible disease, and in his trials to save himself and the people that he cares for, he turns into a monster.”

As a result, this "inner beast" is unwelcome by Michael Morbius, the man, who will have to learn to "accept" his new life.

“When Morbius discovers his inner beast, he becomes afraid of it – and because he’s afraid, he’s also afraid of his powers. He’s afraid that they will take over and change him, so he’s constantly resisting them. To become the hero, he has to accept his fate: Morbius’s journey is to accept that he will still remain the person that he is, but he has to harness these powers.”


While this power is doing all it can to corrupt Michael Morbius, star Jared Leto noted his fate is in his own hands.


“At the end of the day, he’s a very good person. He’s using his talent, his skills, his education, his brains, in search of noble pursuits. He’s not without his faults – he’s breaking some rules, but he’s doing it to find the cure and help people like himself.”

Balancing the Inner Beast

Morbius finds itself in a precarious spot within the comic book movie world.

After being delayed countless times, the film comes out two days after Moon Knight begins streaming on Disney+. While the streaming series isn't in direct competition to the theatrical title, both projects are noticeably similar when considering these quotes.

Both titular characters are corrupted by an outside force that vies for control within the hosts' bodies, and rather than seeking a cure, the characters must "accept [their] fate," or as Moon Knight's tagline says, "embrace the chaos."

That's not even mentioning the stated comparisons to "Magneto, Rogue, Wolverine, [and] Venom," all characters that have had multiple on-screen appearances that date back decades. Standing out in Hollywood is hard enough, and having comparisons to long-established characters only increases the incline in this uphill battle. There's room for Morbius within this vast vat of live-action superheroes, but if Jared Leto's second take on a comic book character is going to be remembered, he's going to have to do something that sets him apart from the rest.

Morbius hits theaters on April 1.
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