Marvel Studios’ Black Panther: Wakanda Forever raked in $180 million in U.S. and Canadian ticket sales over the weekend, a record for November and this year’s second biggest opening behind Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Wakanda Forever’s overseas ticket sales reached $150 million, for a global total opening weekend of $330 million, according to Walt Disney’s (ticker: DIS) estimates on Sunday.
The original Black Panther, starring Chadwick Boseman as King T’Challa/Black Panther, opened in February 2018 with $202 million in ticket sales and went on to gross more than $1.4 billion worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo.
With its majority Black cast and storyline set in a technologically advanced African nation, the film also inspired celebrities and crowdfunding campaigns to buy out screenings and send thousands of children and other fans to see the film.
But Boseman’s unexpected death from colon cancer in August 2020 changed the theme of Wakanda Forever from T’Challa’s story to the grieving kingdom he left behind. Director Ryan Coogler returned for the sequel, as did actors Angela Bassett, Lupita Nyong’o, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, and Danai Gurira. Tenoch Huerta stars as a new foe named Namor.
The film was said cost $250 million to produce, the Associated Press reported.
Wakanda Forever is expected to draw 12.7 million moviegoers this weekend, also second to Doctor Strange, which drew about 13.7 million its opening weekend, according to EntTelligence market data. Ninety-four percent of U.S. foot traffic, and 100% of premium foot traffic, went to see Wakanda Forever, with box office tickets averaging $13.71 nationally, and $17.24 in premium format.
Audiences were 53% male, and 47% female; 42% Caucasian, 36% African American, 13% Hispanic, and 5% Asian, EntTelligence said.
Thor: Love and Thunder, in comparison, drew an audience that was 57% male and 43% female; 60% Caucasian, 16% African American, 14% Hispanic, and 6% Asian.
Second at the box office this weekend was DC Comics’ superhero movie Black Adam, a
Warner Bros.
(WBD) production starring Dwayne Johnson, selling $8.6 million of tickets, for a domestic total of $151.1 million. Ticket to Paradise, a romantic comedy by
Comcast’s
(CMCSA) Universal starring Julia Roberts and George Clooney, was third this weekend with $6.1 million, according to IMDb’s Box Office Mojo.
Even before Wakanda Forever, the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise’ 29 movies had grossed more than $10.5 billion in U.S. ticket sales – more than any other movie franchise, and more than twice as much as the Star Wars franchise, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing figures from Box Office Mojo.
Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
The next blockbuster on the 2022 movie schedule is Disney’s Avatar: The Way of Water, opening Dec. 16.
Write to Janet H. Cho at janet.cho@dowjones.com
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