Morbius was resurrected in theaters because of memes, but relying on them as a gauge of interest isn’t foolproof. Sony’s Morbius was not a big hit its first time in theaters in April, but it was a big success online, where memes about the movie flourished. In particular, the fake catchphrase “It’s Morbin’ Time” trended on multiple platforms, as creators made everything from art to edits of the movie itself. #ItsMorbinTime has over 21 million views on TikTok alone. Flash forward to this weekend, when Sony sent the film back to the big screen in over 1000 theaters, theoretically because of the online attention it had been getting. Unfortunately, the move wasn’t a hit, making just $85K on Friday. Memes are a major part of Gen Z and Millennial language and YPulse’s Social Media Behavior report shows 47% of Gen Z follow meme related accounts…but these multi-layered inside jokes can’t always be interpreted as direct interest in the content being used. (The Verge, GameRant)
