Strong Preview Sales May Mean Biggest Opening Of The Year— But Can It Top ‘Doctor Strange’?

Topline

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Marvel’s sequel to 2018’s smash hit Black Panther, premieres in theaters globally Friday, and after earning $28 million in previews on Thursday, movie fans are waiting to see if it will top the massive success of the first film or take the trophy for the biggest opening weekend of the year.

Letitia Wright attends Marvel Studios’ “Black Panther 2: Wakanda Forever” Premiere at Dolby Theatre … [+] on October 26, 2022 in Hollywood, California.

FilmMagic

Key Facts

The first Black Panther, helmed by the late Chadwick Boseman, earned over $200 million domestically in its opening weekend, and has since grossed more than $1.3 billion worldwide.

Wakanda Forever has earned $66 million in advance ticket sales so far, and has earned $30.8 million internationally.

The movie’s Thursday sales puts it behind two other major Marvel projects for the biggest previews this year: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ($36 million) and Thor: Love and Thunder ($29 million).

Wakanda Forever opens Friday in nearly 4,400 theaters, and is expected to make anywhere from $175 to to $200 million in its debut weekend, according to Variety and Deadline.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness—which was also a Marvel sequel—earned the biggest opening weekend of 2022 so far, at $187 million.

Big Number

84%. That’s the critics’ rating Wakanda Forever has on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences have so far scored it at 94%. The first Black Panther earned a 96% rating from critics and 79% from audiences.

Key Background

Black Panther was the first Marvel movie to ever be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. It received seven nods, and won three Oscars: Costume Design, Original Score and Original Song. It was also nominated for the Best Picture award at the Golden Globes. Fans were shocked in 2020 when Boseman died from colon cancer, as it was not publicly known he was ill at the time. Marvel head Kevin Feige made the decision to not recast Boseman’s character, T’Challa, in the sequel, saying, “it just felt like it was much too soon” after his death to do so. Instead, Wakanda Forever deals with his loss directly, and actors Letita Wright, Danai Gurira and Lupita Nyong’o take center stage in his absence. “The world is still processing the loss of Chad. And [director]

Ryan [Coogler] poured that into the story,” Feige said. A Morning Consult poll published this week found 30% of respondents said Marvel should “definitely” or “probably” recast Boseman’s role, compared to 37% who said they weren’t sure and 33% who said they “definitely” or “probably” shouldn’t have. And while the first Black Panther came with a soundtrack backed by Kendrick Lamar, the new film features new songs by Rihanna, her first new music in years.

Tangent

Another big release hitting select theaters in New York and Los Angeles this weekend is The Fabelmans, Steven Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical, fictional take on his childhood and first steps into filmmaking.

What To Watch For

Between now and Christmas, expect to see some of the most highly-anticipated movies of the years, including She Said, Bones & All, Avatar: The Way Of Water and I Wanna Dance With Somebody, released the big screen. Eligibility for the Academy Awards closes on December 31, and nominations will be announced on January 24.