Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is pulling in some strong numbers domestically, as it has now reached $84M in its Friday opening, which includes the $28M from Thursday previews. That would put it on a course to potentially pull in around $184M domestically over the weekend but Veteran’s Day is making an exact calculation somewhat difficult. It does seem hard to say if it’ll pass the first Black Panther‘s opening of $202M, it should not be downplayed how big this opening is considering a November release.
This opening is the tenth-highest opening day ever for a film in the domestic market. Of course, Veteran’s Day could either be a boosting factor to push it beyond its regular intake but Saturday could be a deciding factor on how it performs. It should also be noted that without previews, the film made more than Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which was at $54.7M while it pulled in $56M.It also might pull in the biggest November opening day for November on IMAX screens. Either way, it’s likely to take the record of the highest-grossing weekend in November, beating out The Hunger Games: Catching Fire at $148M.
It should also be pointed out that the first Black Panther opened to $75.9M on a Friday, which had an A+ CinemaScore pulling it through the weekend. So, Wakanda Forever could still pull through with a slightly higher opening and a slightly lower A CinemaScore, which still holds well for its legs. As of now, the film is going to open around $325M+ worldwide. The Korean market isn’t as powerful an opening this time around, but that could be due to two key factors: the first film heavily featured South Korea as a location and the country is currently mourning a recent tragedy.
For those believing it failed if it doesn’t pass Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness‘ $187.4M opening, it should be considered that the first 2022 Marvel film was sold as an Avenger-sized blockbuster and opened in the summer. It was heavily frontloaded and with a B+ CinemaScore, likely due to its horror influences, it faced a harsh drop in its second weekend. That’ll be the most interesting test going out this weekend for Wakanda Forever. Plus, the film faces the unique challenge of losing its lead in Chadwick Boseman, which was a heavy focus of the film.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, Box Office Mojo
