Well, the numbers are in for the debut weekend of Marvel Studios' Black Widow - and it won, big time. According to the Walt Disney Company, this film was a powerhouse at the box office raking in over $215 million globally. It was an especially big hit with American audiences to the tune of $80 million in ticket sales, and achieved nearly identical success overseas with a tidy $78 million dollar profit by the end of the weekend. Adding to that number is a reported $60 million from people who watched it on Disney+ Premier Access.

That final $60 million dollar figure may be the most important part of the whole announcement. Since the inception of streaming services, many companies either didn't have the technology to specifically figure out which shows and movies were increasing profits, or chose to keep the secrets of that technology in-house in order to give themselves a competitive edge. The fact that Disney is announcing hard numbers for their streaming service's performance is pretty much unprecedented.

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Image via Marvel Studios

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Given the way the world is right now, however, it's actually not as surprising as most people might think. After a year of isolation thanks to Covid - along with fears of viral mutations like the Delta variant starting a new wave of infections - lots of moviegoers are still afraid to venture out of their homes. Streaming services like Disney+ give them a safe, financially affordable alternative to sitting in a crowded movie theater and potentially risking their health.

We've seen movies like The Conjuring 3 and Godzilla vs. Kong make big splashes at the box office while also being available on streaming, but Black Widow shows that streaming is also a strong and quantifiable source for profits.

If you're wary of going out to see your favorite movies, you can watch Black Widow on Disney+ Premier Access right now, or you can wait until October 6 when it will be made available to all Disney+ customers.

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