Black Widow

Black Widow is a 2021 American superhero film based on Marvel Comics featuring the character of the same name. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the 24th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Directed by Kate Shortland from a screenplay by Eric Pearson, the film stars Florence Pugh, David Harbour, O-T Fagbenle, Olga Kurylenko, William Hurt, Ray Winstone and Rachel Weisz, as well as Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow. Set after the events of Captain America: Civil War (2016), the film sees Romanoff on the run and forced to confront his past as a Russian spy before he became an Avenger.

Details

Lionsgate Films began development on a Black Widow film in April 2004, with David Hayter attached to write and direct. The project did not progress and film rights to the character reverted to Marvel Studios by June 2006. Johansson has been cast in several MCU films, starting with Iron Man 2 (2010), and is in talks with Marvel about a solo film. Work began in late 2017 and Shortland was commissioned in July 2018. Jack Schaeffer and Ned Benson contributed to the script before Pearson joined. The film was written as a prequel that expands Romanoff’s history and helps conclude his MCU story following the character’s death in Avengers: Endgame (2019). Shortland emphasized the fight sequence and said it was the most violent MCU film to date. Filming took place from May to October 2019 in Norway, England, Budapest, Morocco and Macon, Georgia.

Released

Black Widow premiered at events around the world on June 29, 2021, and was released in the United States on July 9, with simultaneous access to Premiere, in theaters and via Disney+. It is the first film in Phase IV of the MCU, and was delayed three times from its original May 2020 release date due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Black Widow broke several Pandemic box office records and grossed over $379 million worldwide. In July 2021, Johansson filed a lawsuit against Disney for simultaneous release, which was settled two months later.

Cast and characters

Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow:
An Avenger, highly trained ex-KGB assassin, and S.H.I.E.L.D. Its former agent. Romanoff is on the run and alone following the events of Captain America: Civil War, which Johansson saw as an opportunity to show the character as “a woman who has come into her own and is making independent and active choices for herself”. Director Kate Shortland said that Romanoff’s ambiguous psychological journey was central to the story, and writer Eric Pearson said that the film would show Romanoff as “more emotional, vulnerable and at peace” than the character seen in Avengers: Infinity War (2018). Avengers: Endgame (2019). Because the character dies in Endgame, Johansson said Black Widow allowed her to leave the MCU on a “high note” and said her work as Romanoff is now complete. Ever Anderson plays a young Natasha Romanoff. Anderson, who speaks Russian, feels her taekwondo background and gymnastics training are helpful for the role.
Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova;
David Harbor as Alexei Shostakov / Red Guardian;
O-T Fagbenle as Rick Mason;
Olga Kurylenko as Antonia Drakev / Taskmaster;
William Hart as Thaddeus Ross;
Ray Winstone as Drykov;
Rachel Weisz as Melina Vostokoff;
Additionally, Leanne Samuels, Michelle Lee, and Nanna Blondell appear as the Red Room assassins Lerato, Oksana, and Ingrid, respectively, while Z Zhu plays another Black Widow later identified as Shang-Chi and Helen in The Legend of the Ten Rings. (2021). Olivier Richters portrays Ursa Major, Shostakov’s fellow prisoner. The film’s post-credits scene sees Julia Louis-Dreyfus reprise her role as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine from the Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021) in an uncredited cameo appearance. Jeremy Renner reprized his MCU role as Clint Burton in an uncredited voice-only cameo.

Box Office

Black Widow grossed $183.7 million in the United States and Canada and $196.1 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $379.8 million. The film grossed $226.2 million worldwide in its opening weekend, including $80.4 million at the domestic box office, $78.8 million at the international box office, and $67 million in Disney+ Premiere Access global earnings. Opening weekend grosses were within or exceeded various pre-release estimates. In June 2021, Fandango reported that the film had the highest ticket sales of 2021, surpassing other MCU films from the previous year, such as Doctor Strange (2016) and Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017).
Black Widow earned $39.5 million on its opening day, including $13.2 million from Thursday night previews, which was the best preview night and opening day since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. Its total weekend gross was $80.4 million, making it the top film of the weekend. It was the biggest box office opening since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, surpassing F9’s $70 million opening, and the biggest opening weekend since Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019). The domestic gross was among some of the pre-release estimates for the film, but it was below some updated industry estimates made after opening night and the weekend after preview grosses were known; Deadline Hollywood attributed this in part to the film’s availability on Disney+ with access to Premiere. When the $80.4 million theatrical gross was combined with $55 million in domestic premiere access revenue, its opening weekend total was more than $135.4 million, Disney noted that Black Widow was the only film to exceed $100 million in domestic consumer spending in its opening weekend. Pandemic , and it marked the third-biggest opening for an MCU origin film behind Black Panther ($202 million) and Captain Marvel ($153.4 million). Following its opening weekend, Black Widow posted the biggest non-holiday Monday ($7.16 million) and Tuesday ($7.6 million) in Pandemic. The film crossed $100 million at the domestic box office in six days, the fastest in the pandemic.
In its second weekend, the film grossed $25.8 million, finishing second behind Space Jam: A New Legacy. Its 67% drop marked the biggest second-week drop for an MCU film, surpassing Ant-Man and the Wasp (62%). Box office analysts blamed Black Widow’s second-week decline on the Disney+ Premiere Access release, as well as reported widespread piracy of the film online. In its third weekend, the film grossed another $11.6 million and became the fastest film to reach the $150 million domestic box office total in Pandemic. Black Widow was the fourth-highest-grossing film of 2021 in the United States and Canada.
Outside of North America, Black Widow grossed $78.8 million in its opening weekend from 46 markets. It was the number one film in almost all markets in the Asia Pacific region where it opened—except Japan, where it was third—and all markets in the Latin American region. Black Widow had a top-grossing opening weekend in 15 European markets. IMAX accounted for a weekend total of $4.8 million from 59 countries, 11 of which set opening weekend records for Pandemic. In South Korea, the film had the second-best opening day of 2021, with $3.3 million, and Hong Kong had Pandemic’s best opening with $3.2 million. The film had Pandemic’s biggest opening day in Austria, Czech Republic, Qatar and Slovakia, while in Saudi Arabia, the film achieved the highest opening day for a Disney release. It was the number one film on opening day in many other markets. As of October 2021, the film’s top markets outside of North America were South Korea ($26.3 million), the United Kingdom ($25.8 million), and France ($15.1 million).

About

Directed by	Cate Shortland
Screenplay by	Eric Pearson
Story by	·         Jac Schaeffer ·         Ned Benson
Based on	Marvel Comics
Produced by	Kevin Feige
Starring	·         Scarlett Johansson ·         Florence Pugh ·         David Harbour ·         O-T Fagbenle ·         Olga Kurylenko ·         William Hurt ·         Ray Winstone ·         Rachel Weisz
Cinematography	Gabriel Beristain
Edited by	·         Leigh Folsom Boyd ·         Matthew Schmidt
Music by	Lorne Balfe
Production company	Marvel Studios
Distributed by	Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Release dates	·         June 29, 2021 (world premieres) ·         July 9, 2021 (United States)
Running time	134 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$288.5 million
Box office	$379.8 million

 

ScreenShots