'Black Widow' breaks records with Rs. 294cr opening day haul
What's the story
Marvel Cinematic Universe is enjoying a profitable run with Black Widow doing well in the North American theaters.
The Scarlett Johansson-led superhero movie has raked in over Rs. 294cr ($39.5 million) on opening day, leaving several MCU movies behind.
Earlier, it had grossed a mighty Rs. 98cr ($13.2mn) alone from its Thursday preview screenings.
The amount is reflective of its favorable early reviews.
Details
'Black Widow' overtook 'Spider-Man: Far From Home,' 'Doctor Strange' figures
As per reports, Black Widow's opening day haul has reportedly left several huge Marvel movies behind, including Spider-Man: Far From Home, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Captain America.
Marvel's first theatrical release since 2019, the positive success report suggests it was able to bring back the audience in style.
The preview show numbers also paint a happy picture.
Number crunching
Korea, UK, France lead international market hauls
Natasha Romanoff's standalone movie recorded the highest gross for previews in 2021 with its collection, according to Gitesh Pandya of Box Office Guru.
This means it has overtaken Justin Lin's F9 (Rs. 52 crore) and John Krasinski's A Quiet Place Part II (Rs. 35 crore).
On July 9, when it was released, Pandya revealed the top international markets were Korea, United Kingdom, and France.
Condition
So when are Indians getting to watch the film?
Apart from releasing on the big screens across several markets, the movie was also released on Disney+ with Premier Access in most Disney+ markets.
But we don't have the Premier Access option in India and the theaters are closed due to the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
So for now, it is not possible to watch the Russian assassin in action.
Options
It can see release here on October 6. Here's why
While Disney and Marvel are yet to announce any release strategy, there are two options for them.
Either they can wait for theaters to reopen and roll it in, or stream it on Disney+ Hotstar once the Premier Access period gets over on October 6.
Of course, makers could bring the date closer, given OTT becomes the only way to experience the film.