Seeing Walt Disney's (DIS -0.45%) Black Widow weave a sticky web over fans of superhero flicks last weekend was special. The latest release from Disney's Marvel camp was a hit at the corner multiplex as well as in the living room.
The Scarlett Johansson-helmed film rang up $80 million in domestic ticket sales over the weekend, the strongest showing of any U.S. release since the ninth and final installment of the Star Wars franchise came out in late 2019. Black Widow also collected $78 million internationally, as well as another $60 million through the Premier Access streaming option on Disney+. Ringing up $218 million in ticket sales is a pretty big deal, and it's hard to argue against Disney's unique approach to distribution.
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Disney picked an interesting time to get chatty about the success of Premier Access, the platform where families pay $29.99 for three months of streaming access to a theatrical release before it becomes available to all Disney+ subscribers. The House of Mouse has never spelled out the actual amount that any previous Premier Access has generated -- until now. In fact, outside of early in the pandemic -- when Trolls World Tour generated $95 million in digital sales through its first three weeks of availability -- Hollywood has been tightlipped about the money being generated by premium streaming releases.
Is it just a matter of not saying anything because you have nothing nice to say? Disney isn't likely to cough up the numbers when Jungle Cruise gets the Premier Access treatment later this month if it fails to top $60 million on the digital format.
This is all new ground for movie studios. Black Widow is the fourth entry for Premier Access, and the third time a film debuts on the premium digital service at the same time it hits stateside multiplexes.
It's an interesting strategy. Paying nearly $30 for access to a stream is a lot, especially for a film that Disney+ subscribers will have access to at no additional cost three months from now. The $60 million that Disney generated this past weekend from Black Widow's availability on Premier Access means 2 million families stayed home to stream the Marvel action movie, less than 2% of the Disney+ service's global subscriber base.
However, Black Widow's successful opening does suggest that Disney has the balance right here. Unlike new releases hitting HBO Max for all current subscribers the moment they hit the theater, paying $29.99 to stream Premier Access doesn't devalue the value proposition of the local multiplex. With margins for Disney healthier on the streaming front, why wouldn't it paddle two channels with the same oar?
Eventually the right business model will bubble to the surface, and the rest of the entertainment stocks will follow suit. Don't be surprised if it's Disney leading the next new normal here. Disney's Premier Access offers the right balance of exclusivity and premium pricing, and hopefully -- for the industry's sake -- this is the last time that a studio is bragging about its streaming numbers during opening weekend.
