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Scarlett Johansson plays Natasha Romanoff, AKA Black Widow, in Marvel’s “Black Widow”.

Disney | wonder

“Black Widow” sold $ 13.2 million in preview tickets Thursday, raising the box office bar of the pandemic era.

The Marvel movie is expected to gross between $ 80 million and $ 110 million in box office revenue this weekend.

Universal’s “F9” grossed $ 7.1 million in its Thursday previews last month and $ 70 million on its debut weekend. Both were records for a film released in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

The revenue for “Black Widow” on Thursday is equal to the $ 15.4 million raised from “Spider-Man: Homecoming” and the $ 14.5 million raised from “Thor: Ragnarok” . Both films were released in 2017. “Spider-Man” grossed $ 117 million on its three-day opening weekend and “Thor: Ragnarok,” according to Comscore, $ 123 million.

The strong preview numbers – coupled with pre-sales of tickets that keep pace with several Marvel films released before the pandemic – suggest fans will see this feature hit the big screen, despite it being available at Disney + for US $ 30 Dollar is available.

“This is the weekend Marvel fans have been waiting for, and their enthusiasm is reflected in Thursday’s preview figures, which point to what may well be the best pandemic-era opening weekend for Black Widow,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore. “Despite its availability on Disney +, ‘Black Widow’ is undeniably a big screen event and once again proves the essence of the cinematic experience.”

The number of cinemas open to the public is still below the level of 2019. Before the weekend, around 81% of the cinemas will sell tickets, reports Comscore.

Regardless, Black Widow is headed for the biggest opening of the pandemic, and the industry is likely to see the highest total weekend box office gross since March 2020. This will be a massive step up from the $ 901,000 domestic box office made during the same weekend last year.

Disclosure: NBCUniversal is the parent company of Universal Studios and CNBC.

Cars drive past a Walmart store in Washington, DC on August 18, 2020.

Nicholas Comb | AFP | Getty Images

Walmart has snapped up two veteran Goldman Sachs bankers to help advance the new fintech startup as the company looks beyond retail to drive sales.

Omer Ismail, who runs Goldman’s Consumer Bank, and David Stark, another Goldman banker, go to the retailer. A Goldman Sachs spokesman confirmed her departure. The news was first reported by Bloomberg.

Walmart announced in January that it was starting a new company to create unique, affordable financial products for customers and employees. The company has teamed up with Ribbit Capital, a venture capital firm, but will hold a majority stake in the start-up. Walmart did not disclose the company’s name or when services would be available. Walmart executives, including CFO Brett Biggs and John Furner, CEO of Walmart US, will serve on the startup’s board of directors.

Walmart said it could acquire or work with other fintech companies as part of the company.

The discounter declined to share details beyond what the company previously announced.

With the hiring, Walmart is showing that it’s serious about growing its financial services business. This also underscores the company’s strategy for the coming years. Speaking on a recent investor’s day, CEO Doug McMillon said the world’s largest retailer wants to use its size and size to grow sales in other areas, from opening health clinics to converting consumer data into targeted ads. He said it will deepen customer loyalty with its growing ecosystem of products and through its Walmart + subscription service. The plan is to increase the level of investment to achieve this, increasing it to about $ 14 billion for the coming year, compared to the typical annual rate of $ 10-11 billion.

Walmart already offers some financial services, such as a prepaid debit card that customers can top up with money and use to make purchases. The card is also an alternative for people with a difficult credit rating. It offers features like no overdrafts or monthly fees and no minimum balance required.

The company’s shares are up nearly 23% over the past year and have a market value of more than $ 374 billion.