‘Morbius’ Takes a Solid 17 Million Bite Out of Box Office on Opening Day

Sony Pictures’ “Morbius” has finally landed in theaters after a two-year pandemic delay, earning 17.1 million from 4,268 theaters on Friday, with Sony broadening its weekend projections to the 38-41 million range.Such a result would be close to what trackers expected for “Morbius,” having predicted a start in the low 40 million range. Though “Morbius” is significantly cheaper than other Marvel films the studio has released with a reported budget of 75 million.While the break-even point is relatively lower, “Morbius” may face an uphill box office battle in the coming weeks based on critical and audience reception. Critics panned the film with a 16 Rotten Tomatoes score, and audience reception is mixed at best with a C+ on CinemaScore and a 67 audience Rotten Tomatoes score.Paramount’s “The Lost City” is in second place on the charts this weekend with 4.3 million grossed on Friday and an estimated second weekend of 14.6 million. It’s...