Movie

In addition to earning an estimated $80 million in ticket sales in North America, the Scarlett Johansson-starring Marvel movie generates $60 million from Disney+.

• Jul 12, 2021

AceShowbiz - "Black Widow" has come out victorious on its opening weekend. The latest Marvel movie starring Scarlett Johansson has ruled the domestic box office after its long-awaited release on July 29.

The first Black Widow solo movie generated an estimated $80 million in ticket sales in North America, setting the record for the biggest opening for the pandemic era to date. "F9" previously held the record with $70 million when it debuted atop the chart two weeks ago.

Despite already luring audience to theaters, "Black Widow" has also amassed a huge number of viewership on Disney+ Premier rentals. The movie reportedly has earned $60 million globally and anywhere north of $20 million stateside from the streaming service.

Combined with $78 million from international theaters, the Cate Shortland-directed pic grossed more than $215 million on its first weekend. It is the largest opening weekend since "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" debuted in 2019, before COVID-19 shook the theatre industry.

" 'Black Widow's' strong performance this weekend affirms our flexible distribution strategy of making franchise films available in theaters for a true cinematic experience," said Kareem Daniel, chairman of Disney media and entertainment distribution, in a statement, while also "providing choice to consumers who prefer to watch at home on Disney+" as COVID concerns continue.

Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at Boxoffice.com, chimed in, "This is an unprecedented way of reporting opening weekend business for a film, but Disney deserves some credit for detailing what was generated by the actual box office and what was earned from streaming." He added, "Hopefully this sets a standard for even more transparency across the industry, but it's crucial to keep perspective on the unique circumstances and times we're living in."

Meanwhile, Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, said, "It should come as no surprise that 'Black Widow' snagged the biggest debut and powered the biggest overall weekend of the pandemic" because "the brand equity that Marvel brings to the table is almost unrivaled and is reflected in the historic box office that the films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe have generated."

Over at No. 2, "F9" which steps down one rang added an estimated $10.9 million to its domestic tally. "The Boss Baby: Family Business" follows at No. 3 with approximately $8.7 million, and "The Forever Purge" is also down one place to No. 4 with an estimated $6.7 million. Rounding out the top five is "A Quiet Place Part II", which added approximately $3 million to its domestic gross.

This week, the total domestic box office has collected more than $100 million in ticket sales, the first time since March 2020. It stands at $117 million, the biggest for the U.S. and Canada since the $156.1 million which was collected over the first three days of Presidents' Day weekend 2020.

Top 10 of North America Box Office (Jul. 09-11, 2021):

1. "Black Widow" - $80 million
2. "F9" - $10.9 million
3. "The Boss Baby: Family Business" - $8.7 million
4. "The Forever Purge" - $6.7 million
5. "A Quiet Place Part II" - $3 million
6. "Cruella" - $2.2 million
7. "The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard" - $1.6 million
8. "Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway" - $1.2 million
9. "In the Heights" - $630,000
10. "Zola" - $620,000