𝐹𝒾𝓁𝓂 𝐼𝓃𝒹𝓊𝓈𝓉𝓇𝓎: 𝐵𝓁𝒶𝒸𝓀 𝒲𝒾𝒹𝑜𝓌

1) List the companies involved in the creation of Black Widow.

• Marvel Studios 
• Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures 

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

Conglomerate ownership is a company that own a range of smaller companies (called subsidiaries). An example of this is Disney owning Marvel. 

Conglomerate ownership links to Black Widow because The Walt Disney Company now owns Disney Pictures, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm and Pixar. This is because in 2009, The Walt Disney Company acquired Marvel Entertainment for US$4 billion. 

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

Black Widow is a big-budget movie because of these aspects :

The main star in Black Widow is Scarlett Johansson who is very well known and has established fans.

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.

• Social media - It's free and distributes to a large number of audiences quickly.
• Film trailers - The audience get to see a sample of what's going to come. It gives viewers a basic understanding of the story's plot and genre.
• Posters - Catches the audiences attention and increases the hype for the film before it releases.

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

The production budget for Black Widow was $200M.

Black Widow made only $379M at the worldwide box office due to the pandemic.

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

I wouldn't consider Black Widow a successful Hollywood blockbuster because most Marvel films make around $1B at the box office but Black Widow made $379M and Marvel would have spent well over $100m on marketing the film globally so the profit level is very low.

7) Who regulates the film industry in the UK?

Films in the UK are regulated by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC).

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

Black Widow was given an age rating of  12A because It was deemed to have “moderate violence, injury detail”, yet was not too graphic. 

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?

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?

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

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?

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

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?