The first Black Panther wasn’t a movie. It was a movement. Its sequel? That appears to just be a movie. But a successful one! Its debut at $180 million is nothing to scoff at. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever scored the second-best opening of 2022, falling shy of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness‘ $187M debut. It also broke the record for best opening in the month of November, which was previously held by The Hunger Games: Catching Fire which earned $158.1M nine years ago in 2013. (I don’t normally do “Feel old yet” jokes, but seriously… feel old yet?) It’s also a November record for IMAX, with $14.2M coming from that format. Globally, this MCU installment earned $330M.
The first Black Panther scored $202M in its opening weekend. Spider-Man: No Way Home took in $260.1M, the highest during the pandemic era AND the second-best opening of all time.
Wakanda Forever is… excellent. Regardless of the turnout, those that saw it gave a rousing thumbs up, with 5 stars viaPostTrak. Its Rotten Tomatoes critical score is a solid 84%, while its certified audience score is 95%. 38% of polled audiences also said that they planned to go see Wakanda Forever in theaters again, so that could give this film legs in the long-term, considering that the next major tentpole opening is Avatar: The Way of Water (also from Disney) which doesn’t arrive until just before Christmas.
Ryan Coogler, who directed the first Black Panther, returned to helm Wakanda Forever. There is already awards season buzz for the fiery performance of Angela Bassett as Queen Ramonda. The sequel also featured the returns of Letitia Wright as Shuri, Lupita Nyong’o as Nakia, Danai Gurira as Okoye, Winston Duke as M’Baku, Florence Kasumba as Ayo (although she keeps getting shafted with tiny roles in these pictures), and Martin Freeman as CIA Agent Everett Ross. Also jumping in is Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ recurring MCU string-puller. Wakanda Forever introduces Dominique Thorne as RiRi Williams/Ironheart (who is getting her own Disney+ series), Michaela Coel as another Dora Milaje member, Aneka, and most substantially, Tenoch Huerta Mejia as Namor the Sub-Mariner, a potential Big Bad for the MCU going forward.
As expected, WB/DC’s Black Adam stepped down to #2, with Ticket to Paradise moving to #3. Don’t ask me how in the hell Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile managed to pop back into the Top Five, but there it is at #4. Maybe with the Halloween season fading into the rearview, this is the only family flick still on the market to surpass the waning horror pics. Speaking of that, the surprise hit Smile is still shining at #5.
In its first weekend out, Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile came in second to Smile which was in its second frame. So maybe this is Lyle‘s revenge, finally coming in above Smile.
Check out the Top Five below:
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- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Disney) – 3-day $180M/Wk 1
- Black Adam (New Line) – 3-day $10M (-45%)/Total $152.5M/Wk 4
- Ticket to Paradise (Universal) – 3-day $6.3M (-25%)/Total $56.7M/Wk 4
- Lyle, Lyle Crocodile (Sony) – 3-day $3M (-9%)/Total: $40.6M/Wk 6
- Smile (Paramount) – 3-day $2.285M (-43%),total $102.7M/Wk 7
Nothing major ever opens around a major superhero movie release, so the only notable picture coming out next weekend is The Menu, which isn’t expected to be a major hit, but could place well during awards season. The comedy/thriller stars Nicholas Hoult, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Ralph Fiennes.
I mean… maybe it’ll do well enough to get Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile off this list at least. But for the next few weeks, look for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever to reign.
What will you be checking out at your local multiplex?
