After such a polarizing stint in cinemas when it first premiered last November, most fans didn’t expect too much from Eternals when it finally came to Disney+. But, as it turns out, Eternals ended up being bigger on the streaming platform than it was in theaters. The Direct reports that Eternals is the biggest premiere for an MCU movie on Disney+ ever, breaking the record previously set by Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. SambaTV’s numbers show that Eternals was streamed on 2 million households within five days of it hitting Disney+. However, it is worth noting that these numbers did not come from Disney+ or Marvel Studios. What is interesting here is that Disney+’s numbers are still lower compared to other streaming platforms. Case in point, The Suicide Squad, and The Matrix: Resurrections still posted higher streaming viewership numbers compared to Eternals. Then again, neither of those films did well at the global box office. In particular, The Suicide Squad didn’t even break even, making just $167.4 million against a $185 million budget. But, going back to Eternals, if you take a look at the numbers, it makes little sense for Marvel Studios to drop Eternals despite the overall negative reception to the admittedly experimental film. Eternals’ numbers are just too good for Marvel Studios to ignore. Despite the ongoing pandemic, Eternals still posted one of the highest box office takes in 2021. Now that its unofficial Disney+ numbers are out, Marvel Studios has another reason to reconsider announcing a sequel for Phase 5 if not beyond.
