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CNN Business
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“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” had the big challenge of following “Black Panther,” one of the biggest blockbusters of all time, and doing so without star Chadwick Boseman, who passed away in 2020.
Despite all the challenges, ‘Wakanda Forever’ opened well at the box office this weekend. According to the film’s studio, Disney, the Marvel film grossed an estimated $180 million in North America.
The opening represents one of the best premieres of the year and makes the superhero film the highest-grossing debut film of all time in the month of November. The original record belonged to “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire”, which grossed $158 million in November 2013. The box office run comes almost where most in Hollywood were predicting.
movie made $330 million globally so far.
It’s no surprise why “Wakanda Forever” did so well this weekend.
The film, which stars Letitia Wright and Angela Bassett as the princess and queen of the African country of Wakanda, comes from Marvel Studios – the hottest brand in Hollywood – and is the sequel to one of the most popular films of all time. . ,
When “Black Panther” hit theaters in February 2018, it opened on a $202 million weekend. It then earned $1.3 billion worldwide and received several Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. The film is considered one of the best in the comic book genre and one of the best from Marvel.
Viewers likely bought a ticket to “Wakanda Forever” to see how the film and director Ryan Coogler would handle Boseman’s passing. In an interview with Empire magazine in September, Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige said “it felt like it was too soon to recreate the late actor”. Boseman died of colon cancer at the age of 43.
To its critical reception, “Wakanda Forever” scored 84% on review site Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences also gave the film an “A” on CinemaScore.
CNN media critic Brian Lowry wrote in his review, “‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ tackles an extreme difficulty in addressing the tragic death of Chadwick Boseman.” “This film manages to strike that gloomy melody and still deliver as Marvel-style entertainment that represents a huge achievement.”
The film’s solid start has come in good times for theaters and Disney.
As for cinemas, the industry needs a blockbuster to help grow the numbers as new, noteworthy films have been hard to find in recent months.
As for Disney, shares of the media giant fell 13% on Wednesday after the company reported a $1.4 billion loss to its streaming business last quarter, despite a growth in its subscriber base.
The debut of “Wakanda Forever” won’t affect Disney’s stock as investors focus heavily on the company’s streaming efforts. But the strong performance at the box office helps Disney end the bad week on a high note.
It could help build momentum for theaters with another potential Disney blockbuster on the horizon next month: “Avatar: The Way of Water.”
