What is CinemaScore? Jared Leto's Morbius gets C+ rating as box office numbers fail to impress

'Morbius' box office takes a hit from poor reviews and a C+ Cinemascore. (Image via IMDb)

Morbius is on its way to having the fourth-worst opening weekend of any Marvel film in the last decade.

The film, which starred Jared Leto in the eponymous role and was produced by Sony, received underwhelming reviews from critics and audiences alike. It has secured the lowest Rotten Tomatoes rating of 17% among the Spider-Man Universe films and a C+ rating from Cinemascore.

Morbius is the third installment in Sony's Spider-Man Universe. It is possible that the film is a disappointment only because of the excellence of its predecessors Venom and Venom: Let There Be Carnage. It made just under $10 million more than Paramount's The Lost City, which also had around $75 million in production budget.

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Why is CinemaScore a powerful film evaluation tool?

CinemaScore has been polling moviegoers' reactions to major film releases for over 40 years to determine their appeal and success. They provide a "CinemaScore" movie grade to quantify the audience's impression of movie releases in the United States. The grade can vary from A+ to F.

CinemaScore polls moviegoers directly in theaters across North America on the opening weekend. Audience members are given a ballot with six questions on it, relating to the grade scale and their demographic information. They have to bend back tabs on the CinemaScore ballot to answer these questions. Once they submit their ballots after the end of the film, CinemaScore analyzes the data and publishes the grade.

Leaders in the entertainment, news, and media industries regard CinemaScore as one of the most effective and reliable methods of evaluating audience response and movie appeal on the opening night.

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Why is Morbius failing at the box office?

The logical expectation for Morbius, as a Marvel spinoff and in light of Sony's recent success, was a $50 million opening. Fans have been waiting for the film since it was announced in July 2020. When the first trailer released in November last year, they greeted it with enthusiasm.

However, the film did not live up to the hype. Both critics and the public have been vocal with their dissatisfaction. The C+ Cinemascore secured by Morbius is the second-lowest for any Marvel character film.

After Sony's recent streak of hits with Spider-Man: No Way Home, Carnage, and Uncharted, fans are unwilling to ignore the flaws in Morbius. Based on previous patterns derived from the performance of movies like Fantastic Four and Dark Phoenix, one can predict that the film will end up with a domestic total of around $85 million.

Morbius is available exclusively in theaters all across the world. Have you checked it out yet?