The Marvel movie Black Widow has scored a record breaking US box office take on its first night on release. The film's Thursday night previews netted $13.2 million, the highest figure of the pandemic era.

　　As The Hollywood Reporter notes, Black Widow's preview night box office earnings isn't far behind those of huge pre-COVID Marvel movies such as Spider-Man: Homecoming ($15.4 million) and Thor: Ragnorok ($14.5 million), and beats others, such as Ant-Man & The Wasp ($11.5 million) and Venom ($10 million). It's yet another sign that the US box office is well on the road to recovery.

　　Black Widow is predicted to make $80-$100 million this weekend, which will give it the biggest opening weekend since Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in December 2019. F9, which hit US theaters two weeks ago, made $70 million in its first three days.

　　Black Widow stars Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh, and David Harbour, and is directed by Cate Shortland. In his reviews for GameSpot, Michael Rougeau called the movie "unsatisfying" and said that "despite strong performances from the leads and the addition of a couple of welcome new characters who may spice up the MCU's future, this Natasha side story has plenty of inherent problems that drag it down regardless of any external factors."