With ILM visual effects and Skywalker Sound helping power the film, the hugely enjoyable Black Widow is set to enjoy the biggest cinematic opening weekend since 2019 and The Rise of Skywalker, a success for Marvel after lackluster pandemic era openings for Wonder Woman: 1984 and Tenet.
“Normalcy” is the word of the weekend. 14 months after its intended May 2020 release, Marvel and Disney’s Black Widow finally debuted in cinemas worldwide this weekend. Speaking strictly domestically, the Scarlett Johansson-led MCU prequel (set between Civil War and Infinity War) earned $39.5 million on Friday. That includes $13.2 million in Thursday previews, a 33% cut of the “full Friday” earnings (F9 earned just 23% of its $30 million Friday gross via Thursday previews) and giving it a $26.26 million “raw Friday” gross. To be fair, Sony and Marvel’s Spider-Man: Homecoming (which opened on the same weekend in 2017) earned 30% of its $50.7 million Friday via $15.4 million in Thursday previews.
Nitpicks notwithstanding, this is still the biggest opening day since Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker ($90 million) in December of 2019. Presuming weekend legs on par with Ant-Man and the Wasp ($75 million from a $34 million Friday on this weekend in 2018) and Spider-Man: Homecoming ($117 million/$51 million likewise in 2017), Black Widow will nab an over/under $90 million Fri-Sun debut. Legs closer to their non-Avengers summer kick-off flicks (Thor, Iron Man 3, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, etc.) gets the film between $95 million and $105 million for the weekend. The entire domestic box office should pass $100 million for the first time since the pre-pandemic era.