Marvel Studios continued to flex their muscles as the 800 pound gorilla of the entertainment industry with Black Widow establishing itself as the best box office debut since the pre-pandemic Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker in December 2019.
Black Widow is currently estimated to take home $87.8 million at the weekend box office, racing past the previous pandemic-era record of $70 million set by Universal Studios F9 last month.
Director Cate Shortland’s film took in an estimated $215 globally, with $78 million in international box office, and a whopping $60 million in Disney+ premier access purchases. So far, Disney’s decision to continue to debut their slate of films on the same day for theater and home audiences seems to be working, and we will see if the strategy continues to work for their Dwyane Johnson-led Jungle Cruise on July 30.
Black Widow also gave theaters a shot in the arm, leading the entire box office to an estimated $125 million haul, $25 million better than any weekend in the last seventeen months.
F9 finished in second place with an estimated $10.4 million over the weekend, bringing the ninth film in the Fast and Furious franchise up to the $140.8 million mark. F9 currently trails A Quiet Place Part II (which finished in fifth place with $3 million) by roughly $10 million for 2021’s domestic box office championship. F9 will likely catch A Quiet Place Part II, only to be surpassed shortly by Black Widow for the box office crown.
Be sure to check our Conskipper’s official Black Widow review and come back next week for more on the ever growing summer box office battle.