Black Widow

 1) List the companies involved in the creation of Black Widow. You may wish to use Black Widow's IMDB entry to help with this - see the company credits page - but the answers can also be found above.

Black Widow was created by Walt Disney Studios.

2) What is conglomerate ownership and how does it link to Black Widow?

 Conglomerate ownership is when a major media company owns subsidiaries. Disney owns Marvel (who create the comics and films)

3) Analyse the film trailer for Black Widow. What aspects of the trailer tell you this is a big-budget blockbuster movie?

- Famous actors star in the movie eg. Scarlett Johannson, Florence Pugh.

- Great cinematography (tells us the movie is high budget)

- Fight scenes, stunts, action sequences

- Setting eg. exotic locations

- Marvel is infamous for their expansive use of CGI

- Scarlett Johansson's character in the movie, Natasha Romanoff, is featured in the MCU as an Avenger. As she is existing, she has many fans and is well-known in the comics and previous Marvel films 

4) How was Black Widow promoted to an audience? List at least three different methods used by the film's marketing campaign and why they were effective in promoting the film.

- Billboards (spread awareness about the film and its release date)

- Interviews with stars (created buzz about the film)

- Social media (created word of mouth for barely any money)

5) What was the production budget for Black Widow and how much did it make at the box office?

The production budget for the film was $200 million and it made $379 million at the box office. 

6) Would you consider Black Widow a successful Hollywood blockbuster? Why?

Considering the period of time the film was released, I think Black Widow is a successful blockbuster.   It was the highest-grossing domestic film of 2021 and set the pathway for Marvel's comeback after     Covid.

7) Who regulates the film industry in the UK?

The BBFC regulates the film industry and gives an age rating for every movie.

8) What age rating was Black Widow given? Why?

Black Widow was given a 12A due to "moderate violence, injury detail"

Grade 8/9 extension tasks

1) Read this Guardian report on Scarlett Johansson suing Disney over the release strategy for Black Widow. Do you agree she is right to be angry with the multiplatform release strategy?

Considering the fact that Johansson's lawyers reached out in 2019 to Disney about their concerns, I agree with Scarlett Johansson's furiosity. 

2) Read this feature on how Black Widow shot 22 minutes of IMAX footage to give viewers an incredible widescreen experience in IMAX cinemas. Why is IMAX an important part of marketing a blockbuster movie?

Audiences may prefer seeing the IMAX version and watching the movie in large format to get a better understanding of the film.

3) Look at the Marvel Black Widow website. What promotional devices do Marvel put on the website to promote the film?

They have showed the trailer and different ways people can watch the film. They have also mentioned it' release date on both Disney+, the cinemas and Blu-ray & Digital.

4) Read this feature on Marvel using a fan's tweet to help market the film. Why is audience interaction such an important aspect of modern film marketing?

Word of mouth is a great way of film marketing as it's inexpensive and attracts more viewers. Marvel putting up this tweet allows people to tweet about the film more and talk about their experiences in hopes that it will be on a billboard. 

5) Look at this Guardian website page allowing Marvel fans to discuss Black Widow. What interesting opinions do you notice in the comments? 

People mention how they were unable to watch the movie in the cinemas due to lock down but were able to stream it on Disney+ and also express what they wish to have seen as well as in depth no spoiler reviews which also allows daily readers of The Guardian to read opinions about the film whether they are Marvel fans or not.

Finally, you might want to read this feature on whether there are too many Marvel sequels and spin-offs. Do you agree that there are too many Marvel films?

I disagree with the statement as the comics have lots of information that are missed in the movies purposely and require a movie or a show on is own. The reason lots of people engage and watch Marvel is because of its constituency and constant releases of the  films as well as bringing the comics to life. Lots of Marvel movies are origin films that build up into the big films that include lots of the superheroes that we love and enjoy.