Black Widow is currently outperforming 2019's Spider-Man: Far From Home following its release in theaters and Premier Access on Disney+ on July 9.
Early numbers showed that Black Widow grossed $39.5 million on its opening day, compared to the $39.25 million earned by Far From Home on July 2, 2019, as reported by The-Numbers.com
In doing so, Black Widow also outperformed the opening day earnings of several other Marvel Cinematic Universe releases, including Ant-Man and the Wasp ($33.7 million) and Doctor Strange ($32.6 million).
Here's the list of MCU films that fell short of Black Widow's opening day:
- Black Widow: $39,500,000 (July 9, 2021)
- Spider-Man: Far From Home: $39,255,628 (July 2, 2019)
- Ant-Man and the Wasp: $33,725,082 (July 6, 2018)
- Doctor Strange: $32,585,335 (Nov. 4, 2016)
- Ant-Man: $22,649,199 (July 17, 2015)
- Guardians of the Galaxy: $37,845,336 (Aug. 1, 2014)
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier: $36,926,192 (April 4, 2014)
- Thor: The Dark World: $31,899,210 (Nov. 8, 2013)
- Captain America: $25,700,189 (July 22, 2011)
- Thor: $25,481,796 (May 6, 2011)
The latest opening numbers for Black Widow come a day after it was reported the Scarlett Johansson-led film made $13.2 million from Thursday preview showings. As pointed out by Box Office Guru's Gitesh Pandya on Twitter, that's the highest gross for preview screenings in 2021 so far, outpacing the $7.1 million gross earned by Justin Lin's F9 and the $4.8 million gross brought in by John Krasinski's A Quiet Place Part II.
Black Widow also stayed on pace with the Thursday night earnings of pre-pandemic superhero movies including Wonder Woman, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Doctor Strange and Thor: Ragnarok. In addition to its impressive North American debut, Black Widow amassed $22.4 million in its first two days of release in international territories such as Russia, Australia and Japan.
And while Black Widow has been in theaters for less than a week, director Cate Shortland addressed suggestions that a sequel could be in the works. "I mean, all the beautiful fights and the spectacle, and I think just creating something really fun and joyous is pretty addictive," Shortland said. "So yeah, I would do it again. Yes. I feel really happy about it. Usually, I feel dread when I have something coming out, but this time, I feel really happy. I think because it was such a group effort."
Directed by Cate Shortland, Black Widow stars Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian, O-T Fagbenle as Mason and Rachel Weisz as Melina Vostokoff. The film is now playing in theaters and on Disney+ Premier Access.
Source: The-Numbers.com