Airbus made a gamble at a time where slots and airport access was an issue and hubs the way out , pushed by airlines like Emirates who did put they money where their mouths were . But it failed.
as to the weight to .pax ratio , remember that the current version flying is the equivalent of the SP version of the 747. The final serie would have carried well over 1000 pax ....
The other reason to develop the 380 was to take Boeing head on and compete with them on all sizes incl the 747, . and beat them on the long run with modern designs , . It that they succeed, and probably . looking at today, beyond their wildest dreams .
That said very sad to see a beautiful modern aircraft being scrapped so young... One was recently donated to the le Bourget air and space museum .. another sign ..