Creative accounting is a regular practice in Hollywood, with the money men utilizing all sorts of tricks in an effort to make each year’s balance sheet as healthy as it can be.
Even though the surging Omicron variant was touted as the catalyst, the unstoppable success of Spider-Man: No Way Home has been cited as another major factor in the latest setback faced by Morbius.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s multiversal epic is one of the ten highest-grossing domestic releases ever, the 12th top-earning movie in history and the most lucrative superhero blockbuster that isn’t an Avengers team-up, so you can understand why Sony wouldn’t want to shoot itself in the foot.
No Way Home should pass $1.4 billion globally by the end of tomorrow at the latest, and it’s still got plenty of gas left in the tank. As per Deadline, the studio could simply be opting to play it safe by shunting Morbius back down the calendar to April 1, freeing up more screens for the third Spider-Man effort to continue hauling in those sweet, sweet box office dollars.
Morbius is by no means guaranteed to find huge success, but the No Way Home effect could lead to an uptick in takings it may have otherwise not enjoyed. Sony have regularly faced criticism for the handling of its comic book properties, but the latest shuffle for Jared Leto’s incoming antihero could yield increased commercial gains in the long run.