Marvel's Black Widow not only revived the box office with its $80 million debut but it also set the streaming world ablaze with its launch. Streaming services typically don't reveal their streaming numbers or revenue but Disney+ has a reason to brag on Monday morning and it may be a game-changer for streaming services moving forward.
According to a press release revealed by Disney, Black Widow grossed a massive $60 million on Disney+ through its Premier Access program. Subscribers had to pay $29.99 to stream the film and it looks like many of them had no problem dropping the money to do so. The Disney+ portion of the film's grosses made up for 27% of its take which included its $80 million domestic launch and its $78.8 million start overseas. When it was all said and done, Black Widow pulled in $218.8 million across all platforms of its release over the weekend.
To break this down further, a $60 million debut on Disney+ would mean that about 2 million member accounts of its 103 million subscriber total paid $29.99 to watch the film. I believe Disney revealing this information has a lot to do with most of the industry still being skeptical of the simultaneous theatrical and streaming release model. A lot of talk was going on about how much streaming would cut into the film's box office and not only did Black Widow have a pandemic-era best opening in theaters, it also showed that there is money to be made through streaming. Disney executives didn't reveal if they will continue to unveil their streaming performance but I believe they had something to prove with Black Widow and that's why they're being completely transparent with their results.
How did YOU watch Black Widow over the weekend? Did YOU catch it on the big screen or did YOU watch it from the comfort of your own home?