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Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is scripting history at the box office. Released on November 11, 2022, the Ryan Coogler-directorial recorded a massive haul of $180 million from Canada and the United States over the weekend.
This means the superhero flick is now North America’s biggest opener of November. That throne was earlier occupied by The Hunger Games: Catching Fire starring Jennifer Lawrence, which opened to a huge $158 million in 2013.
As far as the global box office is concerned, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’s November 11-13 collection stands at $330 million, with $150 million arriving from 55 other markets.
Performance of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in the opening weekend
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is the second biggest opener of 2022 and stands next to MCU's Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The Benedict Cumberbatch-led film opened to a solid $187.4 million upon its release on May 6. It eventually emerged as the third highest-grosser of the year, having collected $955 million worldwide.
Apart from US and Canada, Europe, Mexico, South Korea, Brazil, India, and Nigeria also showered much love to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. In the UK and France's box offices, the film collected $15 million and $13.7 million, respectively. The subsequent places were followed by Mexico ($12.8 million), South Korea ($8.9 million), Brazil ($7.1 million), and India ($6.4 million).
Disney’s theatrical distribution chief Tony Chambers said:
"The film had a terrific opening weekend and resonated with all audiences. Marvel and Ryan Coogler did a phenomenal job addressing the unfortunate loss of Chadwick Boseman, and we’ve seen a tremendous response from fans as to how it respectfully honored his legacy."
Plot and cast of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Wakanda Forever is the sequel to the 2018 film Black Panther. Actors like Angela Bassett, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, Danai Gurira, Florence Kasumba, Lupita Nyong’o, and Martin Freeman have reprised their roles from the first part.
While Bassett plays Wakanda’s Sovereign Queen Mother Ramonda and T’Challa’s (Chadwick Boseman) mother, Wright is back as T’Challa’s sister Shuri. Following the untimely demise of Boseman, the Marvel team decided to give a chunk of the script to Wright’s character.
New additions to the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever cast include Tenoch Huerta as anti-hero Namor, Dominique Thorne as MIT student Riri Williams, Michaela Coel as Wakandan warrior Aneka, Mabel Cadena as Namor’s cousin Namora, and Alex Livanalli as Talokanil warrior Attuma.
For those who have not yet watched the film, here is how Marvel describes its official synopsis:
"Queen Ramonda, Shuri, M’Baku (Duke), Okoye (Gurira) and the Dora Milaje (including Kasumba), fight to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s death. As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, the heroes must band together with the help of War Dog Nakia (Nyong’o) and Everett Ross (Freeman) and forge a new path for the kingdom of Wakanda."
Boseman in Wakanda Forever
After the success of Black Panther, Marvel wanted Boseman again as the protagonist for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. However, with his sudden death due to colon cancer in August 2020, the team decided to tweak the script and not recast his character.
Hence, the sequel faced the tricky situation of compensating for Boseman’s absence while retaining its emotional appeal. If the reviews are to be believed, the film has ticked all the relevant boxes.
Coogler and the crew intelligently used clips from the first film to show an ailing T’Challa who ultimately succumbs to his illness. This mirroring of real life was indeed a poignant touch.
