“Morbius”, the resurrected from the dead, has died once more.
After Sony Pictures released it in limited theaters this weekend, the critically-panned film, starring Jared Leto again failed to do well at the box office.
According to BoxOfficeMojo which tracks ticket sales, the film has brought in approximately $73 million domestically since its April 1st release.
After weeks of memes mocking the film online, Sony decided to redistribute “Morbius”.
The hashtag #MorbiusSweep was a popular trend on Twitter for several weeks. Many joked that it was the greatest film ever made, both financially and critically. Many joked that the movie was the first to sell more than a trillion tickets. Others invented a fake movie catchphrase: “It’s Morbin’ time!” — inspired by the iconic “Power Rangers’ line, “It’s Morphin’ time!”
Forbes reported that the theater averaged $270 per ticket and made $280,000 in the weekend.
Sony Pictures and Leto did not immediately respond when we asked for comment.
Similar jokes were made online about the film’s theatrical release. Some suggested that the decision by the studio to re-release it was a sign of its inability to understand meme culture.
One person tweeted, “Did I understand correctly that the Morbius movie exploded, people made fun of it on social media, and the studio thought it indicated some kind of grassroots demand so it was brought back and it exploded again.”
One user said that Morbius’s return to theaters could be a misinterpretation of internet culture by all-timer boomers.
Leto himself seemed to respond to the memes via a tweet he sent on Friday. “What time it is?” He wrote the tweet.
