As they say, numbers don’t lie. And according to the global $330 million that Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ pulled in this weekend, the film is a sequel that understood the assignment!
According to Disney, the film earned $180 million of its global sales from support in North America, per CNN. The opening was the highest-grossing debut in November EVER. This means Wakanda Forever snatched the slot that The Hunger Games: Catching Fire secured in 2013 with their $158 million debut. Wakanda Forever is only a few million below the $202 million debut weekend of its 2018 first installment.
A Box Office Hit After Several Production Challenges
The box office win comes after the Marvel story faced significant challenges in its return to the big screen. Fans worried how the creative team would handle the storyline after Chadwick Boseman, who played King T’Challa and Black Panther in the 2018 film, passed away in 2020 from colon cancer. He was 43 years old.
Kevin Feige, head of Marvel Studios, told Empire magazine in September that director and co-writer Ryan Coogler poured the reality of Chadwick’s passing into the world of Wakanda.
“It just felt like it was much too soon to recast,” Feige said. “Stan Lee always said that Marvel represents the world outside your window. And we had talked about how, as extraordinary and fantastical as our character and stories are, there’s a relatable and human element to everything we do. The world is still processing the loss of Chad. And Ryan poured that into the story.”
this license plate in wakanda forever being chadwick’s initials and birthday… i’ll cry pic.twitter.com/Y2j67nbTIc
— ًbee ✡︎ (@filmlamet) November 14, 2022
In the sequel, Wakandans are processing the loss of King T’Challa, whose death is attributed to an unspecified illness. It serves almost as a tribute to the late actor. Co-star Lupita Nyong’o spoke about filming Wakanda Forever without Boseman.
“For us as a cast, having lost our king, Chadwick Boseman, that was a lot to process, and in many ways, we’re still processing it. When you love someone, I don’t know when you stop missing them. And of course, we felt it so much, making this film without him,” Lupita told Hollywood Reporter in July. She added, “It was very therapeutic. It restored a sense of hope for me in making it, and I think we’ve expanded the world of Wakanda in a way that will blow people’s minds–not just Wakanda, but the ‘Black Panther’ world.”
Social Media Reacts To Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
The film pushed through despite reworking the script, managing Covid-19 restrictions, and Letitia Wright‘s fractured shoulder set injury. In her interview, Lupita added that the two-hours-and-forty-minute sequel will “blow people’s minds.”
Here’s what folks on Twitter have already said about the $250 million production! Meanwhile, Wakanda Forever is holding at 84 percent on Rotten Tomatoes’ tomatometer and a 95 percent audience score.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever having a black woman led cast in a blockbuster superhero movie…Fucking amazing. Then to include an indigenous civilization with an actual indigenous actor in a mainstream blockbuster…Yeah…They set the bar EVERY time.
— Minnie Mi (@MinnieTy5) November 13, 2022
wakanda forever excels at being a comic book film and also just a film.
it’s exploration of grief and the effects on those left behind is one of the most mature discussions the mcu has had.
it was wonderfully handled by ryan coogler and his team. no notes. really.— mal ✰ (@photonsmight) November 13, 2022
truly a breathtaking scene… some of the best performances the mcu has seen. #WakandaForever pic.twitter.com/6QbNgxQqHo
— jarvis ᱬ saw bp2! (@jrvsscarlet) November 13, 2022
Wakanda Forever is about POC solidarity and violence against the oppressor and that’s why it’s the best Marvel film of all time. https://t.co/CDmwiYgc5O
— Keshav Kant (@MxKantEven) November 12, 2022
We gotta give Angela Bassett her flowers cause she really snapped in this movie she really gave the performance of the year has to be my favorite performance in Phase 4 #QueenRamonda #WakandaForever pic.twitter.com/dTxOWIQcC9
— Jay🏹 HAS SEEN WAKANDA FOREVER (@Hawkmaestro21) November 14, 2022
Black Panther Wakanda Forever is a beautiful and heartfelt tribute to Chadwick and T’Challa.
The movie is an emotional journey through grief for the characters, cast, the film makers and the fans
It’s by far the most deep and meaningful MCU movie to date. #WakandaForever pic.twitter.com/Mp4nvCO1nO
— Luke (@LukePrime_) November 13, 2022
a god kidnapped a princess, gave her a dress, his mother’s bracelet, showed her his underwater kingdom. he proposed they burn down a world that has wronged their kingdoms. she refuses, bests him in battle, and he immortalises the fight in art. this is a FAIRYTALE. #WakandaForever pic.twitter.com/wgg2tyXdLU
— phantom of the dystopia✨ (@thislilstangirl) November 13, 2022
