There’s no doubt that Marvel Studios’ Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will prove a box office hit when it premieres in 4,300 theaters in North America on Friday. But how many tickets will the comic book sequel sell out in its opening weekend?
The answer, at least according to early estimates? Much…
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is expected to gross at least $175 million in its first three days of release. But given the hype around Disney’s grand return to the vibrant African nation, there is optimism that initial returns could reach as much as $185 million to $200 million over the weekend.
If ticket sales approach the upper end of estimates, it will rank as the biggest domestic appearance of the year — a distinction that currently belongs to other Disney giant Marvel’s “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” at $187 million. But even the lower end of expectations put Black Panther 2 in rare company. Only 14 movies in history (eight of them from Disney’s MCU) made $175 million or more in one weekend.
Already, “Wakanda Forever” has collected $45 million in advance ticket sales, which is more than “Thor: Love and Thunder” but behind “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” at the same point in its sales cycle, according to insiders.
Internationally, “Black Panther 2” is expected to add another $155 million to $195 million with the film reaching everywhere except China and Russia. Based on forecasts, the support pillar is expected to exceed $350 million globally by Sunday. Those ticket sales would allow “Wakanda Forever” to pass “Black Adam,” a comic strip rival with Dwayne Johnson, which grossed $330 million worldwide after three weeks in theaters.
At the domestic box office, fewer films debuted with $200 million in ticket sales. The original Black Panther is one of eight films to hit that benchmark, setting expectations shamefully with its 2018 debut of $202 million.
It was the first stand-alone story to highlight a massive Wakanda as the first major superhero movie with a predominantly black cast, and went on to advance and win historic Academy nominations. Black Panther finished the box office with $700 million in North America and $1.3 billion worldwide, ranking it as the second best film of that year. It remains the third highest grossing film in domestic box office history. Talk about a tough job to follow.
The original film became a cultural phenomenon that propelled Black Panther to the top of Marvel’s A-list, so the sequel has an extra level of influence following the death of Chadwick Boseman. The actor played King T’Challa in the original Black Panther and died of colon cancer in 2020 at the age of 43.
The sequel, directed by Ryan Coogler and co-written by Coogler and Joe Robert Cole, grapples with themes of death, grief and legacy as leaders of an African nation as they deal with the unexpected death of their ruler and struggle to protect their community from global interference. powers. Angela Bassett (Queen Ramunda), Letitia Wright (Princess of Wakanda Shuri), Lupita Nyong’o (Wakanda’s Secret Spy Nakai), and Winston Duke (Jabiri Chief Mbaku) return for the title role. New additions to the cast include Tenoch Huerta Mejía as the antagonist Namur, the leader of the powerful Aztec Empire; As well as Michaela Coyle and Dominic Thorne.
The Black Panther: Wakanda Forever watch runs at a time of 2 hours 41 minutes, making it significantly longer than its predecessor. An astonishing runtime doesn’t always hurt ticket sales (as “Spider-Man: No Way Home” or “Avengers: Endgame” easily prove), but it does limit the number of viewings each day.
Even with fewer shows per day, the well-reviewed segment of Black Panther is expected to cross the $1 billion mark. However, it may not reach the coveted box office mark as easily as its predecessor. That’s because the $250 million “Wakanda Forever” movie has no release date in China (the first movie took in $105 million) and won’t be shown in Russia (the first movie took in $19.2 million) due to geopolitical tensions. Since the pandemic, just three films – “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Jurassic World Dominion” – have grossed at least $1 billion globally.
Rival studios cleverly walked away from Black Panther, the only new nationwide release this weekend. At the niche box office, Steven Spielberg’s biographical drama “The Fabelmans” opened in four theaters in New York City and Los Angeles.
Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, Seth Rogen and Gabriel Labelle (as a Spielberg screen replacement) star in “The Fabelmans,” which was enthusiastically accepted at the Toronto International Film Festival and won the People’s Choice Award, providing a major boost to awards season. opportunities. Universal is releasing the movie, which expands before Thanksgiving on November 23.
in miscellaneous Reviewing, senior film critic Peter Debruge praised The Fabelmans, writing “The Fugitive Entertainment Master becomes personal in this 150-minute self-portrait, an endearing homage to the complex relationship with his parents that informs so much of his work.”
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