Why Eternals Is The Biggest MCU Movie On Disney+

Despite being the MCU's lowest-rated film, Eternals has had Disney+'s biggest ever MCU debut. Eternals is one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's most divisive entries, but it's made a big splash in its Disney+ premiere, with over 2 million U.S. households streaming the film in its first five days on the platform. Eternals' record-breaking debut isn't exactly in line with the film's popularity, though, as it was the first MCU film to earn a "rotten" score on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, which came after Eternals' early mixed reviews.

Eternals may have had the lowest opening weekend of 2021's Phase 4 MCU films, but it still earned $401.9 million at the global box office and opened above Black Widow and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings globally. Judged against other films released amid the pandemic, Eternals did reasonably well and was 2021's sixth highest-grossing film. The conversation surrounding the expansive film continues well after its initial release, and that will likely continue as Eternals has surpassed Shang-Chi as the biggest MCU film debut in Disney+ history .

Exactly why Eternals has proved to be such a resounding success on Disney+ is actually a combination of a few key factors. The first is the early critical backlash that Eternals received, which was compounded by fans' divided opinions, and—as with many other 2021 releases—the global pandemic. There's also Disney's 45-day exclusive theatrical release window, which many were willing to wait out to catch the film upon its release onto streaming platforms.

The Eternals together looking into the distance

While the early reviews for Eternals were mixed, there was also the review-bombing incident that earned the film a lot of negative attention. This sort of negative press undoubtedly lowered the expectations of some fans, prompting many to miss out on catching Eternals in theaters, particularly as Disney had all but confirmed it would land on Disney+ shortly after the holiday period. As some of 2021's MCU releases didn't work the way Marvel had hoped, the anticipation for Eternals was significantly lower than it had been for other MCU releases.

However, with the negative media attention having died down shortly before the film was released on Disney+, many decided it was time to give Eternals the fair shake it deserved. This allowed those who hadn't caught it in theaters to finally watch the film, which in turn prompted something of a reevaluation of Eternals that has seen opinions swing more favorably for the film. This, in turn, prompted even those who watched it in theaters to rewatch the film—these things combined meant that Eternals fared better on Disney+ than it did in theaters.

Ultimately, Eternals remains one of the MCU's more divisive entries. However, with it being readily available on Disney+, which is a must-have for Marvel fans, it's been given a new life on the streaming platform. While it may not have inspired fans to see it in theaters, it can now be viewed at no extra cost, and—mixed reviews or not—millions have now watched Eternals on Disney+, breaking MCU records in the process.

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