The Walt Disney Company and Marvel Studios touted the success of their most recent Marvel Cinematic Universe entry in Black Widow.
In a press release The Walt Disney Company and Marvel Studios claimed Black Widow earned $60 million from Disney+ Premier Access. They also claimed the film earned $80 million at the domestic box office and $78 million at the international box office for a global opening weekend of $215 million.
Looking at the Disney+ Premier Access numbers it means that 2 million Disney+ accounts purchased Black Widow through Disney+ Premier Access. Although it could be slightly less if you factor in taxes that would push the total purchase of Black Widow over $30.
Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution Chairman Kareem Daniel stated, “Once again, Marvel has delivered an exceptional film to the delight of fans worldwide with Black Widow achieving numerous milestones in the current marketplace.”
He added, “Black Widow’s strong performance this weekend affirms our flexible distribution strategy of making franchise films available in theaters for a true cinematic experience and, as COVID concerns continue globally, providing choice to consumers who prefer to watch at home on Disney+.”
Disney Studios Content Chairman Alan Bergman also stated, “It’s incredible to see audiences enjoying Black Widow after two years without a new Marvel Studios film, and this spectacular opening weekend shows just how eager fans have been to see this beloved Avenger in her own story.”
“There’s no question it’s been worth the wait – Cate Shortland, Scarlett Johansson, and the Marvel Studios team have delivered an exceptional film that continues a legacy of creative excellence as the Marvel Cinematic Universe expands and enters a new era,” he added.
Drilling down into the numbers, if you combine the Disney+ Premier Access and the domestic box office haul, it brings their domestic opening to $140 million. Disney notes this “is the highest domestic opening weekend for a Marvel Cinematic Universe origin story after Black Panther and Captain Marvel.”
According to The-Numbers, a $140 million opening weekend puts it 10th all time for a Marvel Cinematic Universe film.
It is behind Avengers: Endgame, Avengers: Infinity War, The Avengers, Black Panther, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War, Iron Man 3, Captain Marvel, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
However, if you factor in inflation, the film falls one spot down the list with Iron Man 2 also besting Black Widow.
If you don’t factor in the Disney+ numbers, Black Widow’s $80 million opening weekend falls way down the charts. The only Marvel Cinematic Universe films it actually beats are Ant-Man and the Wasp, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, Ant-Man, and The Incredible Hulk.
Factoring in inflation and Ant-Man and the Wasp also beats it. Meaning just at the box office, Black Widow is actually one of the worst performing Marvel Cinematic Universe films to date and the only films it beat are three Phase 1 films before the Marvel Cinematic Universe became the box office juggernaut it has been over the past couple years and Ant-Man.
The film did slightly outpace predictions from Box Office Pro, who previously claimed the film would have an opening weekend between $65 and $90 million and specifically homing in on $77 million.
As for their overall domestic forecast, they predicted it could be anywhere between $155 million and $225 million. It’ll be interesting to see how well the film does in the long term and if it actually has legs.
Looking at audience scores, it has an All Audience score on Rotten Tomatoes of 85% with the average rating being 4.2 out of 5.
On IMDB, it only has a weighted average of 7.0 out of 10. The arithmetic mean is 7.2, while the median score is 7.
And on Metacritic, it has a User Score of 6.5. There are 222 positive scores, 69 mixed scores, and 80 negative scores.
What do you make of these box office and Disney+ numbers for Black Widow? What did you think of the film?