Following close to 15 months of delays Black Widow is finally set to release on Friday (July 9). And, according to Deadline, it’s expected to earn as much as $140 million globally during its opening weekend.
The outlet adds that Disney is conservatively looking to get $75 million in the U.S. during the Friday-Sunday stretch, and that its advanced ticket sales are Fandango’s best of the year so far. If it even comes close to that goal then it’ll best the U.S./Canada pandemic opening record that was established when F9 brought in $70 million.
For more general context, a $140 million worldwide start would mark it way behind some of the bigger Marvel movies, such as Black Panther ($371.3M) and Spider-Man: Homecoming ($256.5M), and obviously Avengers: Endgame (which hit $1.22 billion in the same timeframe). Those came out under way different circumstances, we get it, it’s just to set a baseline for what these blockbusters shoot for in normal times. For even more general context, Black Widow’s budget is pegged at $200+ million.
In addition to whatever it ultimately snags at the box office, Black Widow will also be available via Disney+ Premier for $29.99. That’s not believed to be a hindrance to the film’s opening box office take, but it remains to be seen what it does to its long-term run.
Deadline writes that Disney, though it’s not thrilled to be doing so, is going forward with the double-release idea because COVID-19 continues to rip through a number of territories. As an example, Ontario, Canada (which drives about 40 percent of Canadian ticket sales) remains closed down with no clear date for reopening. China, which stands as Marvel’s biggest market on the planet, has also yet to date the movie, most of Southeast Asia is either closed or only partially operational, and the same can be said about a number of South American countries.
The movie represents a prequel story for Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff, as well as the likely last time that Scarlett Johansson will play the character. In terms of chronology, the events in the film take place after Captain America: Civil War. If you want things set up perfectly then that’s *gestures at preceding sentence* there you go.
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