“Black Widow,” the latest film based on a Marvel comic book, earned $80 million U.S. at the domestic box office during its opening weekend, the most of any film released in the pandemic era.
Perhaps equally impressive, Walt Disney Co. revealed that Black Widow earned an additional $60 million U.S. globally from sales of the film through its Disney+ Premier Access streaming service. It is the first time that Disney has shared information about movies released simultaneously in theatres and on its streaming platform.
And, Black Widow tallied $78 million U.S. from the international box office over the weekend. The movie’s cumulative total worldwide since opening on July 9 (theatres and streaming combined) is $218 million U.S.
Universal’s “F9” was the previous box office record-holder during the pandemic era after earning $70 million U.S. over its three-day opening weekend.
For the first time since March 2020, the North American box office (the U.S. and Canada combined) has collected more than $100 million U.S. in ticket sales, according to data from Comscore. At present, that tally stands at $116.9 million U.S.
Heading into the weekend, box office analysts forecast that Black Widow could capture at least $80 million. Strong advanced ticket sales led some analysts to believe the film could achieve an even bigger haul, even with the film debuting on Disney+ for $30 on the same day that it opened in theatres.
Previously, Disney has remained silent on how its streaming service’s same day offering impacted the theatrical release of a film. The $60 million it captured on Disney+ shows that the approach can be a viable option for the brand in the future.
However, Disney has said that its next Marvel film, “Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings” will only open in movie theaters.
Around 80% of North American movie theaters were open to the public this past weekend, according to data from Comscore.
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