Box Office: ‘Black Widow’ Poised to Capture Pandemic-Era Record With $87.8 Million Debut

Marvel’s “Black Widow” is poised to make an $87.8 million debut at the domestic box office, which would best the pandemic-era opening record previously held by “F9.”

Having raked in a mighty $39.5 million on Friday from 4,160 theaters, “Black Widow” is set to easily earn another $48 million on Saturday and Sunday, with a final number that may shoot even higher than industry estimates. This would push the Cate Shortland-directed film’s opening weekend numbers past that of Universal’s “F9,” which brought in $70 million in its debut. As the first Marvel film to open in theaters since the start of the pandemic, “Black Widow” is already receiving a warm welcome from MCU fans.

Starring Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh, David Harbour and Rachel Weisz, “Black Widow” follows the adventures of Natasha Romanoff between the events of “Captain America: Civil War” and “Avengers: Infinity War.” After uncovering a dangerous conspiracy, Romanoff is forced to confront the darker parts of her past.

However, “Black Widow” is also available to stream on Disney Plus Premier Access for $30, which could impact box office returns — though this record-breaking start is showing no indication of that.

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Though “Black Widow” beat “F9’s” opening weekend record, the action film is still going strong at the box office, with projected three-day earnings of $10.4 million set to bring its total up to a staggering $140.8 million. “F9” has given movie theaters a much-needed boost, and has so far hit $100 million in ticket sales faster than any other pandemic-era release.

Coming in at No. 3 is the animated family film “The Boss Baby: Family Business,” which brought in $2.8 million on Friday and is expected to earn another $8.7 million over the weekend for a total of $34.7 million. Horror movie “The Forever Purge,” the fifth film in the “Purge” franchise, is set to bring in an additional $6.8 million in sales for an overall cume of $27.5 million.

Meanwhile, “A Quiet Place Part II” is still hanging on in the fifth spot, and is set to add another $3 million to its still-dominant haul of $150.7 million. A24’s “Zola” is also continuing to make a splash in the indie scene in its second week of release, making $210,000 on Friday from 1,401 theaters, which brings its total earnings to a healthy $3.1 million. The Janicza Bravo-directed film, starring Taylour Paige and Riley Keough, has also been well-received by critics.

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