Black Widow has broken the pandemic box office record in North America, which was previously held by Vin Diesel’s F9. The movie, starring Scarlett Johansson and Florence Pugh took in an additional $60 million streaming on Disney Plus, and $78 million internationally, for an impressive global total of $218 million.

In a statement on Sunday morning, Disney’s media and entertainment distribution chairman Kareem Daniel said “Black Widow’s strong performance this weekend affirms our flexible distribution strategy of making franchise films available in theatres for a true cinematic experience and, as COVID concerns continue globally, providing choice to consumers who prefer to watch at home…”

According to reports, the record of the Marvel film would be higher if theatres were open and if concerns around COVID-19 weren’t so high. OTT streaming options were also one of the major reasons behind the numbers achieved at the box office, which trade analysts say could have been higher. Universal’s ‘F9: The Fast Saga’ scored second place with $10.8 million. Since it released on the big screen three weeks ago, the action sequel starring Vin Diesel has generated $141 million in North America. At the international box office, ‘F9’ crossed the $400 million mark, boosting its global total to $541.8 million. The film was liked by audiences, who gave it an A-minus CinemaScore, and critics. Black Widow currently boasts an 80 per cent positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Johansson recalls the time she got to know about her character’s death in Endgame. Talking to Empire Magazine, Johansson said, “It was before shooting Infinity War that I was made aware of what was going to happen in Endgame. Kevin called me and said, ‘Look, obviously we’re at a place where there’s going to be big sacrifices and big losses’. We had all anticipated that. So it didn’t seem out of character. It kind of made sense to me, I guess, even though I was sad about it. But after I hung up the phone I remember I thought, ‘Okay, I guess it’s me’. And it took me a minute to process it. It was bittersweet, but it was not a shock.”

Also Read: Scarlett Johansson Recalls The Moment Marvel Told Her About Black Widow’s Death