Two Marvel stars have gone head-to-head in an unlikely competition, with Black Widow now beating out Chris Pratt's The Tomorrow War as the most pirated film of the pandemic era. Natasha Romanoff's solo MCU adventure only hit theaters 11 days ago, receiving a simultaneous day-and-date release on Disney+ for an additional charge. Black Widow grossed $60 million from streaming alone, the first time the studio has released such numbers for one of their Disney+ releases. While the film also passed $100 million at the box office in record time, Black Widow also saw the steepest drop in its second weekend for any Marvel movie.

Another Marvel star saw a major blockbuster release this July, with Pratt's time-traveling sci-fi alien actioner hitting Amazon Prime Video exclusively on July 2. The Tomorrow War was the number one streaming movie in the world after its release despite middling reviews and a sequel is already in the works with both Pratt and director Chris McKay slated to return. The film itself follows Pratt's Dan Forrester, a veteran who is sent to the future to fight an apocalyptic war against an alien species known as White Spikes. There, he and his fellow soldiers must find a way to save both the past and the future.

Related: What To Expect From The Tomorrow War 2

Now, according to a chart by Torrent Freak, Black Widow has seemingly passed The Tomorrow War as the most pirated film of the pandemic era. The MCU film has spent two weeks atop the chart and, as of this writing, the Pratt-led film has slipped into third place behind Netflix's Gunpowder Milkshake. The website does not give specific numbers on the chart as to how many times each films has been downloaded.

Dorian and Dan moving through the city with the other soldiers

While many studios have turned to streaming over the last year and a half to release some of their biggest films, it does pose its fair share of problems. NATO recently released a statement blaming the box office drop of the MCU film on the fact that Black Widow was released on Disney+. While there's no telling how The Tomorrow War would've fared in theaters, it's safe to say it could've pulled in a decent amount of money thanks to its leading star and the sheer fact that it is, in many ways, a perfect summer blockbuster.

Another problem it presents is the accessibility of piracy. With both films available to stream, it made it much easier for people to download high quality versions of the highly anticipated films. Studios and networks are no stranger to this problem - Game of Thrones was long the most-pirated show online - but with blockbusters like Black Widow and The Tomorrow War available online, it severely cuts into the profit margins of some of the studio's highest potential earners. Going forward, it will be interesting to see how Amazon and Marvel react to this news if anything is done at all.

More: Why Black Widow's Box Office Numbers Are Disappointing For Marvel & Disney

Source: Torrent Freak

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