Right now it is one of the weirdest times for a movie to premiere. On one hand, critics, audiences and movie studios are a bit more forgiving. Because of the COVID-19 restrictions, films aren't expected to pull in huge numbers. On the other hand, low box office numbers are still bad, no matter how you put it.
Despite everything, Marvel Studio's first film since the pandemic hit seems to be doing well. In fact, Black Widow is setting records.
Black Widow pulls in pre-COVID numbers at the box office
The COVID-19 pandemic affected a lot of industries, movies included. Because movie theaters have been closed for the better part of the past two years, films have had a hard time drawing in audiences. Although premiering films on streaming platforms has somewhat mitigated the financial hit, the fact remains that it will be a while before films start making the same amount of money that they did before the COVID-19 pandemic started.
Just don't tell that to Marvel Studios' latest feature film, Black Widow.
After premiering in theaters on July 9, Black Widow set pandemic box office records with an $87 million on its opening weekend. Nearly half of this ($39.5 million) came from the first day alone. This gives Black Widow a sizable lead over the likes of F9 ($70 million) and Kong ($69.5 million). Not to mention, Black Widow's box office haul puts it right between 2019's Spider-Man: Far From Home ($92.58 million) and 2013's Thor: Dark World ($85.74 million), which is just amazing.
On top of the $87 million that Black Widow made at the box office, Scarlett Johansson's long-overdue feature film reportedly made Disney over $60 million through the Disney Plus subscription service.
If you add $60 million to the $87 million that Black Widow made in the theaters, the film would rank among the most financially successful MCU films.
Is Black Widow worth watching?
There are many reasons to watch Black Widow and very few not to - like if, for example, theaters haven't opened up in your area and Disney Plus isn't available, then you'll just have to wait for Black Widow to premiere.
Black Widow is a fitting swansong for Natasha Romanoff's time in the MCU. Now that Scarlet Johansson's contract with Marvel Studios has expired and the Black Widow character already sacrificed herself in 2019's Avengers: Endgame, you could do a lot worse than explore the mysterious past of the former Russian spy.
Black Widow is also a monumental film for the MCU. As a standalone film for Scarlett Johansson, the film allows her portrayal of Natasha Romanoff to shine outside of being over-sexualized for the first time since she made her debut in 2010's Iron Man 2.
If you haven't had a chance to watch Black Widow yet, we recommend doing it as soon as possible. Black Widow is available to watch on Disney Plus and in theaters near you.
