Not Black Widow, Eternals Will Be Marvel Studios’ Next Theatrical Release
With Tenet’s struggles to break even and Wonder Woman 1984 rescheduled for Christmas, Marvel fans might have to wait for Eternals to watch superheroes on the big screen.
The world is collectively learning a new order. A new order to live and work — things as normal as going to a theatre has become a choice between life and death. The pandemic continues to prove to be a bigger nuisance for Hollywood than most industries. When theatres and productions shut down in March, nobody knew when things will get normal. Recently, Christopher Nolan’s Tenet braved the pandemic to hit the market and lure people out of their homes. Only problem – the lure just didn’t have enough takers.
Tenet’s Box Office Impact on Hollywood
All eyes were on Tenet’s release starring John David Washington and Robert Pattinson. Nolan’s time inversion tale with its happy ending opened in the international market ahead of US release. Hollywood experts were looking at the box office very closely. Nolan’s most expensive film finally broke even to its production cost ($200 million) on the worldwide box office in its third week.
Watch: Tenet Opening Weekend Box Office $20.2 million, Mulan hits Disney Plus | Beyond The Trailer
Tenet grossed $132.1 million in other territories and $20.2 million in the United States and Canada. Amounting for a worldwide total of $152.3 million in the second week. It is to be noted that New York and LA theatres that are money mines for Nolan’s movies remained shut.
Nevertheless, Warner Bros is keeping the box office collection of Tenet under tight wraps to avoid headlines terming movie a ‘flop.’ Furthermore, the studio has also delayed its next big box office ticket, Wonder Woman 1984, till Christmas. The WB studio surrounded in various controversies at the moment is providing fans diversion with its superhero finery.
Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot’s superhero flick is not a compulsion but a preferred watch in theatres. Made on a cost equal to Nolan’s Tenet, Diana Prince’s story is at least a billion-dollar franchise for WB. Wonder Woman 1984 is now looking at a 25 December release, right behind Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya’s 18 December release, Dune. The Sci-fi movie trailer that came last week suspiciously misses a release date.
Return Of The Superheroes
Given the current state of events coupled with no guarantee of theatres functioning to their full capacity anytime soon, the chance of superheroes returning to the big screen in 2020 looks bleak. Similar to Tenet, Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman was set to lure in superhero fans and casual watchers alike. Now with the movie delayed, Marvel’s Black Widow will be the sole torchbearer for the superhero world.
Watch: New Black Widow Delay Disney Plus VOD Release Update | Everything Always
In the past few months, Disney has been constantly experimenting with its platforms. The unexpected rise of Disney+ has paved way for a new revenue stream in the changing market. Made with roughly the same amount as Wonder Woman and Tenet — Disney released what was expected to be another billion-dollar blockbuster — Liu Yifei’s Mulan on VOD (Video On Demand). Soon, it was rumoured that Disney would take the same route for Scarlett Johansson starrer Black Widow.
Now with collections of Tenet and Mulan, it looks like Marvel Studio bosses at Disney might indeed make the decision to release Black Widow on Disney+ and not delay it further. To set off in contrast, Mulan’s dual opening both in theatres and Disney+ resulted in a rise in ‘consumer spending in the app by 193 per cent’, as reported by Yahoo Finance, directly connected to the $30 purchase fee for Mulan and 68 per cent spike in-app download. Additionally, the movie grossed $ 6 million USD worldwide at the box office on the opening weekend.
Even when shrouded in controversies, from most corners Mulan’s estimated total earnings look more promising for Disney than Tenet’s look for WB. However, both Mulan and Tenet also suffered due to piracy.
Black Widow is supposed to kick start MCU Phase 4 and is the first standalone flick of fan loved Natasha Romanoff. Furthermore, Disney+’s The Falcon and The Winter Soldier and WandaVision are supposed to propel the phase forward. Building up to the release of Eternals, slated for February 12, 2021. If at all Disney and Marvel Studios decide to release Black Widow on VOD… fans would have to wait for Eternals to watch Marvel superheroes on the big screen again.