With some good news already in the bag for the Box Office this week with strong openings from both Black Adam and Ticket to Paradise, there’s further good news in the pipeline. To offset some of the fall slums, we see some truly solid opening predictions for the much anticipated Black Panther: Wakanda Forever release in mid-November. Blake & Wang P.A entertainment attorney, Brandon Blake, looks at the projections.
$175M North American Opening
Heading to cinemas for the weekend of Nov 11th-13th, current predictions suggest that the next installment in the ever-popular Marvel franchises should bring in at least $175M in its North American opening alone. Given that they have yet to make their last media push, this well could rise.
Black Panther managed a $202M domestic debut in 2018, managing to evolve into a cultural phenomenon along the way and bringing in total takings of (to date) $1.34B at the worldwide Box Office. The changed state of the post-pandemic Box Office may hamper it some, as well as the loss of Chadwick Boseman, a Black Panther whose legacy may be short, but was well earned with a remarkable performance that solidified the new Marvel spinoff’s place in the Hall of Fame.
Instead of replacing his iconic T’Challa, Disney opted for a rewritten script for Wakanda Forever that removes him from the story. An interesting choice for the franchise, and one which may well be unsustainable in future installments, but a fitting way to honor the massive impact he had on the role.
Superhero Immunity
Superhero movies have been the one category of movie pumping at the Box Office post-Covid, typically providing a sure-fire success. We’ve even seen some compelling records set during the post-pandemic period, including the second-biggest domestic debut of all time for Spider-Man: No Way Home. Coupled with the attention around this particular installment, hopes are high for a strong Box Office performance that will help power the recovery we’ve seen this year to new heights.
