What would have been almost unimaginable a few years ago is happening today. Marvel's Black Widow is now available in both theaters and on Disney+ Premier Access.

Same-day premiere
Coronavirus changed cinema, or perhaps it simply accelerated a transition that was already underway?

- "I would say Covid accelerated the rate at which we made this transition, but this transition was going to happen anyway," Disney CEO Bob Chapek told CNBC in October 2020. "We are tilting the scale pretty dramatically (toward streaming)."

For the first time, you can watch a new Marvel Cinematic Universe movie in the comfort of your living room on premiere day as part of Disney's Premier Access ($30, £20, €22), which sits on top of the regular Disney+ subscription. Or you can go to your local cinema, if it is open.

 Also read: Warner Bros to debut all 2021 movies simultaneously on HBO Max in 4K HDR

- "'Black Widow'—the first film in Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe— will launch simultaneously in theaters and on Disney+ with Premier Access in most Disney+ markets on July 9, 2021," said Disney.

It follows Mulan, Raya and the Last Dragon, Soul, Cruella and Luca, all of which were also made available to watch on Disney+ on premiere day.


 Black Widow on Disney+

4K vs. 2K?
Black Widow is available to stream in 4K Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos on Disney+.

In cinemas? Only 22% of the world's (excluding China) cinema projectors were 4K as of December 2019 and close to 0% were HDR. On the other hand most cinemas will far surpass home entertainment systems in terms of audio, and the screen is much larger.

But it is not really about that. It is about giving the consumer a choice, according to Disney's CEO.

- "Theaters are not going to be 100% back. It’s nice to know that people have that choice. But we like to let the consumer be our guide in almost all situations," Bob Chapek said at a Morgan Stanley conference earlier this year.