Morbius sinks teeth into box office with $39.1 million debut

Jared Leto's Morbius is the No. 1 movie at the box office.

Director Daniel Espinosa's action adventure film based on the Marvel Comics character debuted with $39.1 million at the domestic box office this weekend, according to Comscore. Globally, the superhero-horror hybrid is projected to earn $84 million by weekend's end.

Morbius follows antihero Dr. Stephen Morbius (Leto), a renowned scientist with a rare blood disorder determined to save others from the same fate. When he tries to cure himself of the condition, he transforms into a vampire with superhuman strength and reflexes. Matt Smith, Adria Arjona, Jared Harris, and Tyrese Gibson also star in the film.

EW critic Leah Greenblatt calls the film fun in her B review, musing that Leto "hits the right notes of fear and longing in a surprisingly restrained performance." She writes, "Logic and plot flow are generally treated like civilian casualties, but the movie, with its canny mix of whiz-bang violence, goth atmosphere, and high camp, feels pleasingly pulpy and urgent up until its last minutes."

In a separate batverse, Robert Pattinson's The Batman — which dominated the domestic box office for three weeks following its March 4 debut — surpassed $700 million at the global box office this weekend, earning a valiant $710.5 million by Sunday. At the domestic box office, the film is No. 3, bringing the North American total to $349 million. It trails behind Sandra Bullock's The Lost City at No. 2, which earned an additional $14.8 million, bringing its North American total to $54.5 million.

Action adventure film Uncharted and fantasy adventure Jujutsu Kaisen 0 rounded out the top five this weekend at the domestic box office, earning an additional $3.6 million and $1.9 million by Sunday, respectively. These numbers bring Uncharted's North American total to $139 million and Jujutsu Kaisen 0's North American total to $31.4 million.

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