Black Widowearly box office estimates are looking good, despite coronavirus concerns. The standalone Natasha Romanoff movie is something Marvel Cinematic Universe fans have been waiting years for.Captain Marvelwas the first MCU project to feature a female lead and it was a massive success at the box office, so all eyes are going to be onBlack Widow. Studios are starting to question upcoming release dates for some of their bigger projects because of the coronavirus, but Disney is reportedly adamant about their movies staying on target.
According to earlybox officeestimates,Black Widowwill bring in anywhere from $90 million to $130 million domestically in its opening weekend. This puts it right in the ballpark ofSpider-Man: Far From Home, which made $95.5 million during its July 4th weekend debut. However, it doesn’t look good for matchingCaptain Marvel’s $153.4 million. The movie doesn’t have a whole lot of competition untilFast and Furious 9opens later in May. Plus, MCU fans have been waiting for nearly a year for a new movie.
MCU fans have been responding well to theBlack Widow trailerand other promotional materials. But, it remains to be seen if going back in time will be a benefit for the movie. The storyline takes place in between the events ofCaptain America: Civil WarandInfinity War, focusing on what Natasha Romanoff did during that time. For hardcore fans, it is definitely something they want to see. As for casual watchers, the events ofAvengers: Endgamemay confuse things since the character is technically dead in the current timeline.
Coronavirus concerns will also be a factor. As of this writing, new cases are popping up every day and big events are being canceled all over the world. The annual SXSW in Austin, Texas was supposed to kick off next week, but it has been canceled. Emerald City Comic-Con, which was supposed to take place this weekend, has also been canceled. Movie theaters in China and Italy are closed and Universal decided to pushNo Time to Dieuntil the end of the year. As the coronavirus continues to spread, people will more than likely end up staying home and far away from places like movie theaters.
Regardless,Disneyand Marvel Studios seem pretty confident thatBlack Widowwill be able to succeed at the box office. The movie doesn’t hit theaters until May and a lot can happen between now and then. The whole thing could be gone by the time the movie opens in theaters, which would be ideal. Or, it could be a lot worse, which may find the studio questioning the release date. For now, we’ll just have to wait and see, but it looks likeBlack Widowwill be a hit when it arrives. These initial estimates forBlack Widowcome to us fromBox Office Pro.
