Black Widow at the Box Office!

[Iceman]

It's gonna take a while before things are really back to normal. Even when I went to see BW in theaters, I felt uneasy being there, especially with the new variant Delta going around. It was soooo packed in that Dolby theater and no social distancing seats. I think I'll probably stay home for Shang Chi and do premier access.(that's if things aren't looking better by then).

Hopefully things can get back to normal bout time Spider-man No Way Home comes out.

Oh really? My showing (UK) was very much distancesd and I felt safe being right in the corner at the back with noone near me. Every group was separated by a bunch of seats at least and also with no one directly behind or ahead.

 

[Detective Conan]

 

[psylockolussus]

I would be happy if the theaters made the ticket and concession prices worth it. At my local Regal, nothing has changed to make the experience worth the price raises. The seats, the decor, everything has been the same for the last 15 years despite the price increase.

thats your own issue with your local theater. Not every theater has bad accommodations/decor/chairs. Just because you had a bad eXperience with yours, it doesn't mean studios should change how they release their movies and just dump them to streaming sites.

Personally speaking, the nearest Imax theater from where I live is well maintained (the last time I went to). And while the other theaters I regularly go to might not get upgraded every year, but it will not stop movie tickets to increase as the priceof movie ticket increases every year. Thats just eXpected.

Like many people have said in the past, releasing these movies on paid streaming sites won't be enough. Unless someone like Amazon prime or NetfliX buy the finished product and thats not going to happen for every big studio movie, especially Disney with their franchises. While releasing movies on streaming sites, the day they hit theaters won't also help, if studios really want to recoup their budget - unless Marvel Studios lower the budget of their future movies by 75%, maybe they would earn a big profit like they did in the past with their theaterical releases.

There's a reason why a D+ premium release is not yet announced for Shang Chi, Eternals and even Encanto, as Disney could be thinking there are still more money to make in theaterical release than putting these big movies straight to streaming sites with the D+ premium release as a temporary thing due to Covid. Box office performance Imo was also the reason why it took so long for Black Widow to be released. They were waiting for the right time as D+ premium access isn't enough to recoup their budget. Now, time will tell if they can continue making these big budgeted movies with this D+ premium access strategy, especially if the world gets worse with the virus.

So yeah I don't get the cheering here when these theater owners are pissed and then calling them "salty". You do really realize a lot of the movie franchises active today, the ones currently releasing/making new movies wouldn't be possible in the 1st place, if it wasn't for boX office success?

 

[Ctfxcwatcher]

Oh really? My showing (UK) was very much distancesd and I felt safe being right in the corner at the back with noone near me. Every group was separated by a bunch of seats at least and also with no one directly behind or ahead.

Yeah here in Miami, Florida there is no social distancing anymore. It's at the AMC at Aventura Mall. Very popular theater spot at the biggest mall in Florida. I really wanted to see it opening weekend with fans so that's why I went first thing. Even the manatees were packed showings. We'll see how things are looking come September

 

[Ctfxcwatcher]

I'm think BW will have the biggest domestic opening for now. TSS is the next cbm to open but going by the people who track ticket sales on a box office forum, it's not looking too good for that opening at the moment.

 

[psylockolussus]

I'm think BW will have the biggest domestic opening for now. TSS is the next cbm to open but going by the people who track ticket sales on a box office forum, it's not looking too good for that opening at the moment.

Birds of Prey surprisingly underperformed. So who knows with that one. The news about the Delta Variant is quite alarming, so that might affect theaters. I'm intrigued whats going to happen to the world in the several weeks. Lockdown again?

I'll happily fine with Black Widow as the queen of boX office of 2021 (North America).

 

[Detective Conan]

 

[Iceman]

Yeah here in Miami, Florida there is no social distancing anymore. It's at the AMC at Aventura Mall. Very popular theater spot at the biggest mall in Florida. I really wanted to see it opening weekend with fans so that's why I went first thing. Even the manatees were packed showings. We'll see how things are looking come September

Theoretically lockdown restrictions are fully over as of today in the UK. I’ll see what happens next time I try and and go to a film. I prebook so I should be able to see if there are greyed out seats made unavailable for social distancing.

 

[Iceman]

That’s the better option I think, with it still coming straight to Disney + very soon after the cinema starts dying off.

 

[BaelaTargaryen]

 

[SomeOldGuy]

I am just one individual data point, but I haven’t seen BW yet and have no intention of doing so for several more weeks. Why? Delta. The vax rate around me is barely above 50% and has been stalled at that point for weeks. All the bad indicators are ticking back up. So yeah, I’ll wait a few more weeks until the crowds are gone. Maybe I’m some kind of crazy outlier but if I’m not this thing has a chance for decent legs.

 

[Mysteryman]

I was going to watch Jungle Cruise using Premium Access as a bid to support streaming as an option.
However, since they are ENDING the service, I no longer feel the need to do so.
Disney, THANKS FOR SAVING ME THE MONEY!

 

[Comicbookguy339]

Wonder what the reaction will be if Shang-Chi has a steep 2nd weekend drop like F9 and Black Widow.

 

[Web-Head]

Thank God. The same day and date was a stupid idea to begin with

 

[Mysteryman]

Wonder what the reaction will be if Shang-Chi has a steep 2nd weekend drop like F9 and Black Widow.

It's not like they are going to say,"We would have made more money if we streamed Shang Chi on Disney Plus!"

 

[Mysteryman]

Thank God. The same day and date was a stupid idea to begin with

To his credit, Kevin Feige tried to warn them.

 

[Bary]

Its clear Disney plus screwed Disney on black widow and the 2nd weekend drop is proof. Streaming for these big budget movies day and day release in theaters and streaming are not the future despite what Disney might have you believe. Pirating and 5 plus people watching the movie for $30 together is taking away alot of tickets sales that made marvel movies 1 billion dollar movies.

sorry for the rant but just my thoughts

 

[Bary]

For the amount of money they charge for a ticket and concessions, it’s hard for me to feel sorry for them. This is coming from someone who used to work at one.

I dont much about your theater but most of mine have recliner chairs, deals on concession etc. I usually don't buy concession when I go and sneak in a bottle of water so mostly I pay $10 when I was going all the time. Now if I go with my wife on date night at 7 on a Saturday and buy concession then Im getting taking for a ride

 

[Detective Conan]

 

[Iceman]

I am just one individual data point, but I haven’t seen BW yet and have no intention of doing so for several more weeks. Why? Delta. The vax rate around me is barely above 50% and has been stalled at that point for weeks. All the bad indicators are ticking back up. So yeah, I’ll wait a few more weeks until the crowds are gone. Maybe I’m some kind of crazy outlier but if I’m not this thing has a chance for decent legs.

Fair point. There could be a bunch more in the same situation.

 

[Mike Murdock]

Just looking at the movies coming out (since I think the crowded season is a big reason for the drop), Space Jam is likely to be fine this weekend because there's nothing particularly interesting coming out. But I wouldn't be shocked if Jungle Cruise takes over just because it's been long enough for something like that to be likely. But I have no doubt if it does, it'll be dethroned the following week by Suicide Squad.

 

[Comicbookguy339]

A level-headed analysis by Murrell that doesn't boil down to "PA bad". 4:49-7:42 is really the relevant bit.

 

[The Caped Knight]

 

[psylockolussus]

Thank God. The same day and date was a stupid idea to begin with

To me, it is a temporary thing. I felt like Disney were in a desperate situation in an uncertain time. Like delaying these movies for a year can't be a good thing. So they definitely made choices for movies like Luca, Soul, Black Widow, Hamilton, Raya and Cruella - that wouldn't even possible if Covid didn't happen.

 

[Web-Head]

To me, it is a temporary thing. I felt like Disney were in a desperate situation in an uncertain time. Like delaying these movies for a year can't be a good thing. So they definitely made choices for movies like Luca, Soul, Black Widow, Hamilton, Raya and Cruella - that wouldn't even possible if Covid didn't happen.

I understood it more with films like Mulan, Soul and even Raya since theaters weren't really open yet at that time, but with Black Widow and Jungle Cruise I think it was just a stupid decision.