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Black Panther: Wakanda Forever provided much relief to a struggling box office, whose October ticket sales were some of the lowest the industry had seen in almost two decades. The highly-anticipated film put forth a record-setting performance for November, posting one of the best cinematic openings the month has ever seen.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever marks the end of Phase Four for Marvel Studios, which will lunge into Phase Five with the long-awaited arrival of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania next year. The second installment of the Black Panther franchise pushes familiar characters to the forefront in a fight to protect Wakanda in the wake of King T'Challa's death. Through grief, the collection of heroes must unite to blaze a new path for the kingdom while threats from the sea seek to weaken the once-powerful nation.
As reported by Deadline, the Marvel Studios film took home an impressive $180 million at the domestic box office to close out its premiere weekend. The energizing total earned by Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is the best performance from the theatrical weekend, and the best opening weekend number the month of November has ever seen. The previous titleholder for the month was Lionsgate's The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, whose $158 million opening held the proverbial crown for nine years.
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In addition, the $180 million opening performance gives Black Panther: Wakanda Forever the second-best domestic debut of the year behind Marvel Studios' Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The Benedict Cumberbatch-led film took home a solid $187.4 million to close out its debut weekend earlier this year. Regarding reception, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is being received well across the board, earning an A rating on CinemaScore and an 84% on Rotten Tomatoes from critics.
Warner Bros.' Black Adam finished its fourth theatrical weekend in second place at the domestic box office, earning $10 million to conclude the weekend. Universal's Ticket to Paradise finished the weekend in third place, taking home $6.3 million, followed by Sony's Lyle, Lyle Crocodile, which earned $3 million to conclude its sixth theatrical weekend. Finally, Paramount Pictures' Smile finished the weekend in fifth place, earning $2.28 million to bring its overall domestic total to $102.7 million.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever ushers in the return of Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, Winston Duke, and Angela Bassett from 2018's Black Panther. In addition, the second installment welcomes newcomer Tenoch Huerta as the project's main antagonist, Namor, alongside Dominique Thorne in her MCU debut as Ironheart. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever looks to reign supreme for the next few weeks as the holiday season approaches, but how far the Marvel Studios project can go remains to be seen. Tom Cruise's Top Gun: Maverick remains the highest-grossing film of the year, with December quickly approaching. It'll be interesting to see if Black Panther: Wakanda Panther can claw its way to the top to surpass the outstanding Paramount film.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is currently playing in theaters.
Source: Deadline