Black Widow was released in theaters and on Disney+'s Premier Access at the same time, and while that paid off for Disney on a financial level (in the short-term, at least), the fallout has been significant. Scarlett Johansson is in the midst of a legal battle with the studio, and we've seen that Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings did just fine debuting in theaters, where it will play for 45 days.
It had previously been reported that the fate of Eternals hinged on Shang-Chi's success, but a former reporter for The Hollywood Reporter, Matthew Belloni, has shared an update in his What I'm Hearing... newsletter. According to him, the decision has been made about what to do with the next Phase 4 title.
"After Disney C.E.O. Bob Chapek basically dared Shang-Chi to perform in theaters over Labor Day weekend, and it did $94 million domestically, he couldn’t possibly put Eternals on Disney+ day-and-date, right? I’m told Chapek and distribution chief Kareem Daniels have made their decision on the November movie’s fate, and it will indeed receive an exclusive theatrical run."
While we don't know how much the situation with theaters will have changed by the time Eternals is released in November, it seems the success of Shang-Chi has increased confidence in Hollywood. We've just seen Venom: Let There Be Carnage move up from October 15 to October 1, so it makes sense for Eternals to forego a $29.99 Digital release for the time being.
Box office numbers are obviously way down from pre-pandemic levels, but after a year or more of making pretty much nothing, studios will take what they can get at this point.
Eternals is set to be released on November 5, later this year!
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