'Black Widow' Had a Record-Breaking Opening Weekend
by EG
Disney's Black Widow had little problem setting a new box-office record for the pandemic era. The Marvel movie blasted past the previous record-holder, F9, and had the biggest opening weekend since the end of 2019. Maybe more importantly, Black Widow earned a whopping $60 million via online streaming, where it released on Disney+ (for a premium fee) on the same day it opened in theaters. Read on for details.
Proving the might of the Marvel brand, Black Widow set a new benchmark for the pandemic era in opening to $80 million at the domestic box office.
The female-led superhero pic snared the biggest North American start since the COVID-19 crisis commenced, and the largest since Disney/Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in Dec. 2019.
Overseas, the film earned $78.8 million from 46 territories for a worldwide theatrical debut of $158.8 million.
Additionally, Black Widow made at least $60 million from Disney+ Premier Access — a household has to pay $30 to watch the film — for a global start of $218.8 million, according to Disney. It’s unprecedented for a studio to announce a premium VOD or streaming viewership number on a film’s opening weekend, and Disney’s decision to do so prompted a flurry of conversations across Hollywood on Sunday as to whether this will lead to more transparency. (Disney, for instance, has yet to say what the Disney+ Premier Access numbers were for Cruella or Raya and the Last Dragon.)
In a second milestone of the weekend, Paramount’s A Quiet Place Part II crossed $150 million domestically in its seventh outing. That’s a first for the pandemic era.
Until now, Universal’s F9 domestic start of $70 million (including $7.1 million in Thursday sneaks) held the crown top pandemic-era opening (F9‘s global gross is approaching $550 million, including $141.3 million domestically.) Both F9 and Black Widow are among numerous 2020 tentpoles that were delayed because of the COVID-19 crisis.
The major difference between the two: A Quiet Place Part II and F9 received an exclusive theatrical release, while Black Widow opted to open day-and-date on Disney+ Premier Access.
Get the rest of the story at The Hollywood Reporter.