Eternals to defy critics' mixed reviews? Marvel's latest epic pegged for $70m weekend

Marvel Entertainment has enjoyed a good year at the ticket windows despite the COVID pandemic. Black Widow and Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings brought audiences to the theatres in big numbers. The latest to do so is the Eternals. 

The multi-superhero venture has enjoyed an impressive first two days at the box office. After earning close to $10 million in the preview shows, the action film enjoyed another good day in terms of footfalls. The movie can surely expect to hit the $70-million mark over the weekend.

Eternals eyeing $70 million weekend

Eternals was on its way to a $30 million opening day at the box office, as per a report on Deadline. The figure was contributed with $9.5 million collections from the previews held a day before. 

With the first day collections, one could expect the movie to cross the  $70 million figure at the box office this weekend. The figure could also go up to $75 million.

If the supehero venture lives up to the expectations, the movie will be the fourth in the list of the top weekend grossers this year. Only Venom: Let There be Carnage, which is reported to have grossed $90 million, Black Widow with $80 million and Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (around $75 million) performed better over the first three days. 

The box office performance of Eternals comes amid mixed reviews from both netizens and critics. Among the highlights was its performance on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, which read 'rotten', making Eternals the lowest-rated MCU film.

Among the factors that could play a minor role in the collections is the ban against the movie in countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman, allegedly over the portrayal of a gay superhero.

Eternals traces the story of the reunion of a group of 10 blessed with superpowers, who are faced with the task of protecting Earth.The venture stars Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Salma Hayek,  Angelina Jolie, Kumail Nanjiani, Brian Tyree Henry, Lauren Ridloff, Barry Keoghan, Don Lee, Harish Patel, Kit Harington, among others.

The movie has been directed by Chloe Zao. The screenplay has been penned by Chloe Zhao, Patrick Burleigh, Ryan Firpo and Kaz Firpo.