It was a huge weekend for Marvel Studios as Black Widow debuted with a huge $158M global theatrical opening. The film easily scored the biggest domestic opening of the pandemic-era, surpassing the $70M made by Fast 9. Globally the cinema continues to show signs of recovery thanks to a number of huge releases.
Nobody will be surprised to learn that Black Widow was crowned the champion of the weekend. The 24th film in the MCU opened with a pandemic-record-breaking $80M in the domestic market. The film also snagged an ‘A-‘ grade from CinemaScore and earned an 80% fresh rating from critics and a 92% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Scarlett Johansson swan-song also opened in 46 international territories in time for the weekend and scored an impressive $78M. That brings the film’s theatrical total to an impressive $158M. Black Widow has yet to set a launch-date for the Chinese market.
Disney also broke with tradition to release information about the film’s performance on Disney+. Released on July 9, simultaneously with its debut in US theatres, Black Widow is available for a surcharge of $30. According to figures released by the studio, this aided the film in bringing in an additional $60M.
With all figures included, Black Widow is off to a $218M start.
After three consecutive weeks in the top spot, Fast 9 had to settle for second place this week. The Universal Pictures release grossed $10.9M in its third weekend, dropping off -52.7% from the previous weekend frame. Its total domestic total now stands at $141.3M. Internationally, where the film opened a little earlier, F9 has raked in $400.5M, bringing its worldwide gross to $541.8M.
Universal had plenty to celebrate as the final receipts were tallied last night. Scoring not only the number two spot on the chart, but also the third and fourth spots. In third place was animated sequel, Boss Baby 2. The follow-up to the 2017 hit once again stars the vocal talents of Alec Baldwin and earned $8.7M in its second weekend, slipping an estimated 45.6% from the prior session.
Its two-week domestic box-office total sits at $34.7M. To date, the family friendly film has grossed $1.7M from overseas, pushing its global total to $36.5M.
In fourth place sits the Universal distributed, but Blumhouse produced, The Forever Purge. Also in its second week at the box office the horror sequel grossed an estimated $6.7M, falling -46.5% from the previous frame. Its two-week domestic total now sits at $27.4M. Overseas, the film has earned an additional $7.4M, putting its global total at $34.8M.
Rounding out the top five this week was Paramount Pictures A Quiet Place Part II. Now in its seventh weekend at the box office, the horror sequel brought in an estimated $3M. Falling a mere -26.7%, it’s domestic total now sits at $150.7M. Overseas, the movie has added $128.3M, bringing its worldwide total to $279M.
Entering the fray next weekend… Warner Bros. Space Jam: A New Legacy.
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