For every hit movie that Hollywood releases, there’s bound to be a flop. Disappointing films are just a reality of the entertainment industry, and people who work on them quickly develop thick skins about the process. But while a studio making the occasional box office bomb is par for the course, sometimes a film fails so spectacularly that it shocks even the most seasoned industry veterans.
This year, that film was “Morbius.”
The Jared Leto vehicle pulled off the impressive feat of bombing at the box office twice in the same year. After its catastrophic initial release led to an influx of Internet memes making fun of the film, Sony appeared to mistake that mockery for genuine enthusiasm and released the film again. The second release was even less impressive, grossing less than $300 per screen on average. Altogether, the film grossed just north of $163 million globally — low for a Sony Marvel tentpole when you look at the $1.9 billion-plus gross of “Spider-Man: No Way Home” even in a pandemic world.
One would think a failure like “Morbius” would take a toll on the egos of the film’s cast. But Matt Smith, who played Morbius’ (Jared Leto) vampire brother Milo, isn’t too upset about it. The actor recently spoke to Rolling Stone UK about how he doesn’t get too worked up about the results of his films.
“Yeah, it was thrown under the bus,” Smith said. “But you just have to roll with it. What else are you gonna do? It’s a film, at the end of the day, we’re not saving lives. For whatever reason, it didn’t quite work out and… It is what it is.”
It’s a good thing that Smith isn’t worried about the response to “Morbius,” because critics weren’t particularly kind to it either: In her review of the film, IndieWire’s Kate Erbland wrote: “Even the most basic elements of the film are incomprehensible. Michael has all the trappings of a bad guy — this is the kind of guy who has a massive chamber of bats in the middle of his lab, both for decor and research — but by the time he gifts yet another origami animal to someone he cares about, you’ll have to wonder, this dude is a villain? (Leto, who notoriously immerses himself in his work, could seemingly find little here, his Michael is somehow both confounding and very boring.)”
This year, that film was “Morbius.”
The Jared Leto vehicle pulled off the impressive feat of bombing at the box office twice in the same year. After its catastrophic initial release led to an influx of Internet memes making fun of the film, Sony appeared to mistake that mockery for genuine enthusiasm and released the film again. The second release was even less impressive, grossing less than $300 per screen on average. Altogether, the film grossed just north of $163 million globally — low for a Sony Marvel tentpole when you look at the $1.9 billion-plus gross of “Spider-Man: No Way Home” even in a pandemic world.
One would think a failure like “Morbius” would take a toll on the egos of the film’s cast. But Matt Smith, who played Morbius’ (Jared Leto) vampire brother Milo, isn’t too upset about it. The actor recently spoke to Rolling Stone UK about how he doesn’t get too worked up about the results of his films.
“Yeah, it was thrown under the bus,” Smith said. “But you just have to roll with it. What else are you gonna do? It’s a film, at the end of the day, we’re not saving lives. For whatever reason, it didn’t quite work out and… It is what it is.”
It’s a good thing that Smith isn’t worried about the response to “Morbius,” because critics weren’t particularly kind to it either: In her review of the film, IndieWire’s Kate Erbland wrote: “Even the most basic elements of the film are incomprehensible. Michael has all the trappings of a bad guy — this is the kind of guy who has a massive chamber of bats in the middle of his lab, both for decor and research — but by the time he gifts yet another origami animal to someone he cares about, you’ll have to wonder, this dude is a villain? (Leto, who notoriously immerses himself in his work, could seemingly find little here, his Michael is somehow both confounding and very boring.)”