New Marvel Film Currently Dominating Streaming Movie Charts

Marvel movies continue to be the most popular in the world, both at the box office and on streaming services. The films from Marvel (both in the MCU and otherwise) have been the biggest force of theatrical success this year, and it appears those wins are translating to the world of streaming as the Marvel fare starts making its way online. Black Widow was made available for purchase on Disney+ when it was released earlier this year, but it was added to the main roster of the service back in October and immediately became the biggest movie in all of streaming.

Nielsen has released the streaming charts from the week of October 18-24 and Black Widow was the top film online for that period of time. According to Nielsen, Black Widow was streamed for a total of 269 million minutes over the course of that week, topping every other movie on Disney+ as well as all of Netflix's offerings. Hocus Pocus, also on Disney+, came in second for the week, which makes sense given that it was right before Halloween. 

Every new title from Marvel Studios has been dominant in the streaming space once it arrives on Disney+ and Black Widow certainly wasn't any different. In a few weeks, expect to see even bigger numbers for Shang-Chi's streaming debut. Unlike Black Widow, Shang-Chi wasn't part of the Disney+ Premier Access program, so its arrival on Disney+ Day was truly its first time streaming anywhere. Hawkeye is sure to be another massive hit for the streamer when it premieres later this month.

Black Widow served as a swan song to Scarlett Johansson's Natasha in the MCU, having been part of the franchise since 2010 and eventually sacrificing herself to acquire the Soul Stone in Avengers: Endgame. It also acts as a passing of the torch, setting up Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) with a future in the MCU.

"First of all, I think when I came on board there wasn't even any conversations of whether there'd be this scene or that scene or a future Yelena," Pugh told ComicBook.com. "It was just like, 'Get involved, get stuck in.' And I was so grateful to be invited. Going forward, I think the most wonderful thing and the scary thing is that, obviously, I've got major shoes to fill. It's just been really wonderful seeing all the ways that Scarlett's changed conversation about her character. And I think for me, whatever future there is, I would love to, I suppose, follow in her footsteps in that way. How do we make Yelena different, how do we make her stand out? How do we make her powerful? And that's going to be an ongoing, I hope, conversation. Yeah, I suppose follow in Scarlett's footsteps in that way, changing it."

Have you rewatched Black Widow since it arrived on Disney+? Let us know in the comments!