Written By Mikey Sutton • Editor-in-Chief • Owner
Marvel’s Black Widow is still staying put in theaters. There are no changes to Black Widow‘s May 7 theatrical release date even as the global pandemic rages on.
When Warner Bros. announced that Wonder Woman 1984 would be released simultaneously in some theaters and HBO Max on December 25, the rumor machine went haywire.
Speculation rained all over the Net that Black Widow would be next. Would Disney swallow the bitter pill as they did with Mulan?
It didn’t happen even after Wonder Woman 1984 landed on HBO Max. Black Widow won’t be moved to Disney+.
During Disney’s recent FYQ1 earnings call, CEO Bob Chapek admitted to being flexible about the destination of the company’s upcoming movies.
According to Deadline, Chapek stressed that Black Widow “is still set to be a pure theatrical release as mentioned back at the company’s December investor day.”
Potentially, Black Widow could earn more than $1 billion at the global box office; it’s a huge loss for Disney to keep it on their streaming channel.
Black Widow Release Will Be Theatrical
Furthermore, If Black Widow was anxiously anticipated before, the appetite for it has grown even more now. After all, there hasn’t been a new MCU film to watch since Spider-Man: Far from Home in 2019.
Because of COVID-19, it’s almost been two years since Marvel Studios had a movie out. Moreover, the limited series WandaVision ignited excitement for the MCU once again.
Nevertheless, the continued success of streaming networks is about catalogs and not really films. This is why Marvel Studios, so far, has only announced MCU series for Disney+ and not films. People stick with subscriptions for addictive, regularly updated content such as Stranger Things and The Mandalorian.
MCU movies like Black Widow are events you pay tickets to see in the cinemas.
The film could be pushed back again. However, the gradual availability of COVID-19 vaccines creates a sense of optimism for May 7. Deadline added that “should the pandemic quell by then, and New York City and Los Angeles reopen movie theaters the Scarlett Johansson and Florence Pugh feature will be the first tentpole to re-ignite exhibition.”