In the footsteps of the Marvel superhero films released this year, `Eternals` raked in $9.5 million at its Thursday previews, making it the third best for the Covid era, behind `Black Widow` ($13.2 million) and `Venom: Let There Be Carnage` ($11.6 million). Its haul was ahead, though, of `Shang-Chi`, which had opened with $8.8 million, reports `Variety`.

The Chloe Zhao film starring Angelina Jolie and Salma Hayek may have got a `Rotten` rating on `Rotten Tomatoes`, and been banned in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar because it shows gay love, but audiences forked out an estimated $19.8 million to watch it in theatres across 39 markets in its first two days.