Superhero movies are performing well at the box office as Black Panther: Wakanda Forever dominates its opening weekend with an estimated $84 million opening day from 4,396 theaters including $28 million in previews.
The film is estimated to gross between $175 million and $185 million, which would make it the second highest opening weekend of 2022 after Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness which opened to $187.4 million back in May.
Meanwhile, DC’s Black Adam is estimated to collect about $10 million at the box office in the film’s fourth weekend for a total domestic haul of about $150 million. The DC superhero film needs to hit about $200 million domestic, and will struggle to hit $400 million worldwide to at least have a chance to recoup its budget before marketing costs.
Should Black Adam hold this weekend, it would be the third Warner Bros. Discovery release to reach that $150 million mark, joining The Batman and Elvis.
How much did the first Black Panther score in its opening weekend?
In comparison, Black Panther opened to $202 million domestically when it was released in theaters in February 2018. The movie went to on to earn more than 1.34 billion worldwide, making it the fourteenth highest-grossing feature of all-time at the time of this writing.
Two years after the release of Black Panther and T’Challa’s return in Avengers: Infinity War and its follow-up Endgame, Chadwick Boseman, the actor behind the fan-favorite character, passed away at the age of 43, following a four-year battle with colon cancer. Marvel made the decision not to recast T’Challa for the sequel, with a new character taking on the Black Panther mantle.
In Heroic Hollywood’s review of the movie Ryden Scarnato wrote, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever picks up after the events of Avengers: Endgame, with T’Challa’s death becoming permanent due to Boseman’s real-life passing and the story now following the world of Wakanda dealing with that grief. While the film is an ensemble, it ultimately rests on the shoulders of Letitia Wright’s Shuri and Angela Bassett’s Queen Ramonda.
When it comes to performances, everyone here is at the top of their game, and you can’t help but think that’s because of how intertwined the film is with real life. With Wright and Bassett serving as focal points, the two are the strongest of the bunch, with incredibly personal moments that are some of the most heartfelt we’ve ever seen in the MCU. Shuri’s larger role in the film, in particular, also works for those who might have reservations.
