English actor O-T Fagbenle will appear alongside Scarlett Johansson in 'Black Widow', the Marvel movie which marks the Hollywood debut of director Cate Shortland.
The theatrical debut of Disney's 'Black Widow' smashed pandemic-era records in the US, but in Australia, where Sydney remains in lockdown, the film couldn't surpass the opening weekends of recent titles 'F9' or 'Godzilla vs. Kong'.
With Sydney's cinemas still shuttered, a snap lockdown in effect in South East Queensland, Victorian and South Australian theatres just reopening, and the Olympics competing for eyeballs, it wasn't going to be smooth sailing for Disney's 'Jungle Cruise'.
With 16 million Australians in lockdown last weekend, the box office prospects for James Gunn's 'The Suicide Squad' were fairly slim.
'Space Jam: A New Legacy' did bumper business during school holiday advance screenings, but its official opening weekend was hampered by cinema closures in the country's two largest markets.
With more than half the country's population in lockdown, it followed that the box office would take a tumble, with no title cracking $1 million last weekend.
Cate Shortland will make her Hollywood directing debut on a Marvel superhero adventure which will star Scarlett Johansson as the Black Widow.
The current Sydney lockdown and the tightening of restrictions across the country has dealt another blow to exhibitors.