Black Widow is Marvel’s first major release, other than Disney+ shows, in two years. In addition, it’s the first Marvel movie to be released in theaters and Disney+ at the same time. Disney+ has a Premier Access program that lets the subscribers stream exclusive Disney+ movie releases by paying $30 extra. Before Black Widow, Mulan, Raya And The Last Dragon, and Cruella have already been released on the Disney+ through its Premier Access program.
According to Deadline, Black Widow has successfully made $60 million of Disney+ release. It has happened the first time that a studio has shared the numbers of a movie released on a streaming platform. Additionally, the film earned more than $200 million globally, including the earnings through Disney+.
The two-year break due to the covid-19 pandemic has affected several movie releases. Since the Black Widow movie, starring Scarlett Johanson, was scheduled to release in 2020 but was postponed due to the ongoing covid-19 situation. However, Marvel’s decision to release the movie digitally and in theaters made July 2021 release possible. Other than Disney, Warner Bros also released all of their 2021 movies, including Wonder Woman 1984, in theaters and HBO Max at the same time. However, they have announced to come back to theaters in 2022 for big releases.
The success of Black Widow on Disney+ doesn’t necessarily mean that Disney will be open to releasing movies on Disney+ along with the theatrical release. However, Jungle Cruise is currently in the pipeline for the Disney+ Premier Access, releasing in both theaters and Disney+ on July 30th. Other movies coming from Disney this year are Free Guy, Shang-Chi, and The Legend of the Ten Rings are coming to theaters on August 13th and September 3rd, respectively.
The success of Black Widow means there’s an audience that prefers watching movies at home. This can make programs like Premier Access of Disney+ a success, as these studios don’t have to share anything with the theaters from their streaming services. So, there might be a chance that studios will consider releasing movies on their streaming platforms for better profits.
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