The box office roared back to life with the long-awaited release of 鈥淏lack Panther: Wakanda Forever."
The Marvel sequel earned $180 million in ticket sales from more than 4,396 theaters in the U.S. and Canada, according to estimates from The Walt Disney Co. on Sunday, making it the second biggest opening of the year behind 鈥淒octor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness." Overseas, it brought in an additional $150 million from 50 territories, bringing its worldwide total to $330 million.
鈥淲akanda Forever鈥� was eagerly anticipated by both audiences and exhibitors, who have weathered a slow spell at the box office since the summer movie season ended and there were fewer bigger budget blockbusters in the pipeline. The film got off to a mighty start a bit stronger than even the first film with an $84 million opening day, including $28 million from Thursday previews.
鈥淪ome may have hoped for $200 million like the first film, but this is solid,鈥� said Paul Dergarabedian, Comscore鈥檚 senior media analyst. 鈥淭his is the type of movie that theaters really need to drive audiences.鈥�
The first film opened to $202 million in February 2018 and went on to gross over $1.4 billion worldwide, making it one of the highest grossing films of all time and a cultural phenomenon. A sequel was inevitable, and development began soon after with director Ryan Coogler returning, but after . 鈥淲akanda Forever鈥� became, instead, about the death of Boseman鈥檚 King T鈥機halla/Black Panther, and the grieving kingdom he left behind. Returning actors include Angela Bassett, Lupita Nyong鈥檕, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke and Danai Gurira, who face off against a new foe in Tenoch Huerta鈥檚 Namor. The film would face more complications too, including Wright getting injured and some COVID-19 related setbacks. All told, it cost a reported $250 million to make, not accounting for marketing and promotion.
AP Film Writer Jake Coyle that, "'Wakanda Forever' is overlong, a little unwieldy and somewhat mystifyingly steers toward a climax on a barge in the middle of the Atlantic. But Coogler鈥檚 fluid command of mixing intimacy with spectacle remains gripping.鈥�
It currently holds an 84% on Rotten Tomatoes and, as is often the case with comic book films, the audience scores are even higher.
Superhero films have fared well during the pandemic, but none yet have reached the heights of 鈥淪pider-Man: No Way Home,鈥� which opened to $260.1 million in Dec. 2021. Other big launches include 鈥淒octor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness鈥� ($187.4 million in May), 鈥淭hor: Love and Thunder鈥� ($144.2 million in July) and 鈥淭he Batman鈥� ($134 million in March).
鈥淲akanda Forever鈥� is first film to open over $100 million since 鈥淭hor鈥� in July, which has been difficult for exhibitors that are already dealing with a calender that has about 30% fewer wide releases than in a normal year.
Holdovers populated the rest of the top five, as no film dared launch nationwide against a Marvel behemoth. Second place went to the DC superhero 鈥淏lack Adam,鈥� with $8.6 million, bringing its domestic total to $151.1 million. 鈥淭icket to Paradise鈥� landed in third, in weekend four, with $6.1 million. The Julia Roberts and George Clooney romantic comedy has made nearly $150 million worldwide. 鈥淟yle, Lyle, Crocodile" and 鈥淪mile鈥� rounded out the top five with $3.2 million and $2.3 million, respectively.
Some awards hopefuls have struggled in their expansions lately, but Searchlight Pictures' 鈥淭he Banshees of Inisherin,鈥� with Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, looks like an exception. The Martin McDonagh film expanded to 960 theaters in its fourth weekend and got seventh place on the charts with $1.7 million, bringing its total to $5.8 million.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a very interesting post-summer period for movie theaters, with some gems out there doing well like 鈥楾icket to Paradise鈥� and 鈥楽mile,鈥欌�� Dergarabedian said. 鈥淏ut movie theaters can鈥檛 survive on non-blockbuster style films. The industry needs more of these.鈥�
After 鈥淏lack Panther,鈥� the next blockbuster on the schedule is 鈥淎vatar: The Way of Water,鈥� arriving Dec. 16.
The weekend wasn鈥檛 completely without any other high-profile releases. Steven Spielberg鈥檚 autobiographical drama 鈥� 鈥� opened in four theaters in New York and Los Angeles with $160,000. Universal and Amblin will roll the film out to more theaters in the coming weeks to build excitement around the likely Oscar-contender. Michelle Williams and Paul Dano play parents to the Spielberg stand-in Sammy Fabelman, who is falling in love with movies and filmmaking as his parents鈥� marriage crumbles.
鈥淭his will be an interesting holiday season,鈥� Dergarabedian said. 鈥淚 think a lot of the dramas and independent films will have their time to shine over the next couple months.鈥�
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. 鈥淏lack Panther: Wakanda Forever,鈥� $180 million.
2. 鈥淏lack Adam,鈥� $8.6 million.
3. 鈥淭icket to Paradise,鈥� $6.1 million.
4. 鈥淟yle, Lyle, Crocodile,鈥� $3.2 million.
5. 鈥淪mile,鈥� $2.3 million.
6. 鈥淧rey for the Devil,鈥� $2 million.
7. 鈥淭he Banshees of Inisherin,鈥� $1.7 million.
8. 鈥淥ne Piece Film Red,鈥� $1.4 million.
9. 鈥淭ill,鈥� $618,000.
10. 鈥淵ashoda,鈥� $380,000.
鈥�-
Follow AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ldbahr.
Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
