Black Widow has scored a record week in the US with collections of $105m including previews which comfortably surpasses the $93 million of Fast & Furious 9 in week one including previews. It is the first film post the pandemic to hit $100 million in a week.

These are good numbers but it could have been far better as the film began to drop on the second day due to a release on Disney +  on the second day of its theatrical release. Black Widow had far better reports compared to Fast & Furious 9 and was coming with the Marvel branding but collections dropped around 40% on day two while for a film like Fast & Furious 9 it was around 25%. These drops include the preview numbers which are now being added to Friday collections but both are like for like.

The drop should have been lesser for Black Widow or on a worst case similar to Fast & Furious 9 due to the better reports but rampant piracy post a PVOD release film hits collections no matter what and this is what has probably happened to Black Widow. A PVOD release alongside theatrical without piracy can probably live hand in hand but that is impossible to achieve.

The PVOD release will probably also be reflected in the final worldwide numbers of the film which should have easily gone past Fast & Furious 9. Black Widow should also easily become the highest grossing film post the pandemic in US but now it remains to be seen if it can go past The Quiet Place Part 2 ($152m) and Fast & Furious ($147m) and both films still running.

Black Widow had a shot at the $200 million mark were it not for the Disney + release due to the Marvel brand and reports of the film.