The ongoing effects of COVID-19 were always going to be a factor in how high Black Widow could fly at the box office, but Scarlett Johansson’s long-awaited solo debut still managed to set a slew of pandemic-era records when it hit theaters last weekend, which was all the more impressive when it also launched simultaneously on Disney Plus Premier Access.
A domestic bow of $80 million comfortably blew past the record set by Fast & Furious 9 just weeks earlier, while Black Widow also flew beyond $100 million in record time, managing to hit the milestone in six days. On top of that, a healthy international debut saw Cate Shortland’s prequel open to $150 million globally over the course of its first three days playing on the big screen, as well as bringing in an additional $60 million from Disney Plus revenue.
The good news is that Black Widow has already earned $264 million and counting, but the bad news is that it suffered the largest second weekend box office drop in Marvel Cinematic Universe history. Space Jam: A New Legacy claimed a surprise victory thanks to a three-day haul north of $32 million, and while Widow‘s $26 million is still higher than the vast majority of titles managed in their first frames since March 2020, a 67.5% decline in takings is the steepest the franchise has ever experienced dating back thirteen years and 24 installments.
Black Widow has already passed The Incredible Hulk‘s lifetime gross in the space of ten days, though, and should be able to comfortably surpass Captain America: The First Avenger‘s $370 million as well, but after falling off a commercial cliff so quickly there’s every chance it might end up as the third lowest-earning effort in the MCU’s back catalogue should it fall short of Thor‘s $449 million.