Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is one of the most highly-anticipated movies in 2022, however, to many people’s surprise interest in the sequel so far seems a tad below another of Marvel’s blockbusters for this year, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Currently, Doctor Strange 2 stands as Marvel Studios' biggest hit in Phase Four after the film amassed $955.7m in box office earnings worldwide on a $200m budget, a milestone Disney executives sure have on their sights for Wakanda Forever, seeing as the original Black Panther became a $1.34 billion phenomenon. Nevertheless, forecasts stemming from ticket sales all the way through Sunday might hint at an uphill battle for Wakanda Forever, especially when considering the movie cost an extra $50m to be made.
According to Deadline, Wakanda Forever has so far sold $45m worth of movie tickets for its opening weekend, roughly 20% down from what Doctor Strange and the Scarlet Witch had achieved, but still much higher than Thor: Love and Thunder. Regardless of that, most industry insiders aren’t too obsessed with those numbers, especially on a Holiday weekend that will see many of Marvel’s younger audiences in the United States enjoying a break from school on Friday due to Veterans Day.
Commercial projections for Wakanda Forever have the film targeting a $175-185m opening weekend in the U.S. and a $355-365m total worldwide, both of which would put it slightly behind what Doctor Strange 2 achieved ($187.4M U.S. and Canada or $452.4 globally). While initial critics’ reviews for Black Panther Wakanda Forever appear to agree on the movie not quite hitting the same heights as 2018’s Black Panther, Ryan Coogler’s second superhero gig is still off to a great start.
Wakanda Forever is a film largely defined by the passing of Chadwick Boseman, whose legacy has expanded well beyond filmmaking due to his relationship with many of the people that worked on Black Panther. Marvel and Coogler’s decision not to recast T’Challa has not exactly been met with unanimous approval from the fan base yet, at the very least, if there’s one thing the entire cast has made clear is that this is the movie they wanted to make to honor the late actor.
In what -by most accounts- has proven to be a divisive Phase Four for the MCU, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is being heralded as the best film to come out of it, a title alone that’s perhaps much more valuable than financial success.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will release in theaters on November 11, 2022.
Source: Deadline
