The weekend numbers are now in, with Eternals having comfortably landed one of the pandemic’s highest-grossing domestic opening weekends after bringing in an estimated $71 million.
While that’s exceptional for the circumstances, and fourth only to Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Black Widow and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, it’s also the lowest debut for any Marvel Cinematic Universe film since Ant-Man hauled in $57 million back in 2015, but everything gets an asterisk next to its name in the age of COVID-19.
However, the cosmic epic earned $161 million globally across its first frame in theaters around the world, which gives it the distinction of being the second-biggest worldwide opener since the end of 2019 behind No Time to Die, which could be a sign that international audiences may be the ones to propel Eternals to long-term success.
Black Widow and Shang-Chi brought in 48% and 52% of their entire box office totals from the United States, which is very high for the MCU, with domestic tallies usually only accounting for 30-40% of total takings. Eternals may have slightly under-performed commercially and drastically disappointed critically, but it’s still well-placed for a lucrative run at the box office.