Black Widow becomes biggest Hollywood grosser since COVID outbreak

Marvel’s back and how! They’re back with a standalone film of Black Widow, around the only female Avenger of the main group, and the movie has made $80 million at the North American box office during its debut. This is the highest that any Hollywood film has grossed since the the start of the COVID outbreak.

Like most films in the franchise, Black Widow opened doing great business, starting its box office journey on Friday with $40 million. The Scarlett Johansson starrer grossed $80 million in its domestic market of North America over the weekend.

With Black Widow’s profitable opening, the North American box office hit the $100 million mark over a three-day period, the first of its kind since February 2020. All films collectively earned $117 million over the weekend.

Along with international sales, Black Widow has grossed $150 million as of now.

Black Widow is the first Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film to theatrically release after the coronavirus pandemic shook the world. Besides Johansson, the film stars Florence Pugh, David Harbour, O-T Fagbenle, Olga Kurylenko, William Hurt, Ray Winstone, and Rachel Weisz. It is written by Eric Pearson who also wrote the critical and commercial blockbuster (another MCU film) Thor: Ragnarok.

In the film, Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow revisits her past after she realizes someone from her past life is up to something menacing. The official synopsis reads, “Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow confronts the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past arises. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Natasha must deal with her history as a spy and the broken relationships left in her wake long before she became an Avenger.”

The film released on July 9 in most countries. In select countries like the US, it also simultaneously released on Disney+’s premiere service and its watching is priced at $30. There is no information about its India release yet.

Also read: Marvel to spread its superhero magic on Disney+

The film has been well received by the public, as reflected by an aggregated score of 80%  on Rotten Tomatoes. The critical consensus reads, “Black Widow’s deeper themes are drowned out in all the action, but it remains a solidly entertaining standalone adventure that’s rounded out by a stellar supporting cast.”