It was a great opening weekend for the second film installment in Marvel Cinematic Universe’s “Black Panther.” “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” which was without the lead character due to the death of actor Chadwick Boseman in August 2020, raked in a whopping $180 million in U.S. dollars over the weekend.
The industry has been experiencing an underperforming box office until now, The New York Times reported. “Wakanda Forever” collected an additional $150 million overseas, The New York Times reported.
The film cost $250 million to make.
The box office take was the second highest for a film this year so far ad the highest for a film released in November.
Box Office Deets
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” follows “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” with its $187 million start in film successes this year. The “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” start reportedly is the biggest ever for the month, besting the $158 million of “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” CNN reported.
While the “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” box office tally wasn’t anything to sneeze at, it didn’t match the $202 million opening of the first “Black Panther” in February 2018. That film went on to ultimately make $700 million globally.
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” which stars Angela Bassett, Letitia Wright, Danai Gurira, Lupita Nyong’o and Tenoch Huerta, delivered slightly higher than the $175 million that was estimated for its opening. Directed again by Ryan Coogler, the film saw the 13th-highest opening of all-time, as well as the No. 8 opening of all-time for an MCU title.
A Different Audience
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” saw a huge turnout from women over 25 for, which accounted for 32 percent of the audience, Deadline reported. That demo only represented just 23 percent on the first “Black Panther.” Men over 25 accounted for 31 percent for the second film; they comprised 27 percent on the first chapter. Men under 25 repped 21 percent this time versus 29 percent on “Black Panther.” Women under 25 made up 15 percent of the audience, a lower share than 21 percent for “Black Panther.”
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” wasn’t a cheap movie to see. According to EntTelligence, the average ticket price for “Wakanda Forever” was $13.71 across the board for the U.S., $12.63 for a non-premium ticket and $17.24 for a premium format ticket. The top markets for the movie were Los Angeles, New York City, Dallas, San Francisco, Chicago, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Philly, Houston and Phoenix in regards to attendance.
“’Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ has succeeded in delivering a poignant, unmissable sequel to the iconic original, while jumpstarting the global box office ahead of a strong blockbuster slate through 2023. Heading into the Thanksgiving holiday, we expect this film to have a strong run,” said Rich Gelfond, CEO of IMAX in a statement. “A Filmed for IMAX release, ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ is one of many forthcoming tentpoles created with our technology, for our screens, and further demonstrates the creative and commercial power IMAX can help unlock.”
