To nobody’s surprise, a Marvel movie will be a smash hit when it hits theaters. NRG released its projections (via Variety) for the opening weekend of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, as it is guessed that it will be in the ballpark of $175 million at the box office. Rival studio executives are thinking it will be bigger depending on word of mouth and reviews.
The pandemic has still hindered the film industry to its glory days before 2020. Still, if it lands the projected box office number, then Wakanda Forever will have the second biggest opening weekend of the year, right behind Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which opened with $184 million. It would also be slightly lower than the first film from 2018 as it opened to $202 million.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever box office projections are not surprising
The review embargo releases on November 8 at 12 p.m. ET, so no word has been out on how the film will match its predecessor, but those who have seen early cuts have said positive things. The bar from the box office of the first film is high for Wakanda Forever as the predecessor with the late Chadwick Boseman became a global phenomenon, putting it up there with Marvel’s greatest hits. During its run, it grossed $700 domestically, then bumped up from international markets to reach a worldwide revenue of $1.3 billion.
Leading star Chadwick Boseman died of colon cancer in 2020, leading to a drastic different story and alterations to this corner of the MCU as the studio did not want to recast the actor. We will see multiple people take on the suit with the introduction to Riri Williams, aka Ironheart (Dominique Thorne), and Namor (Tenoch Huerta). Ironheart will also get a Disney+ series of the same name in 2023.
The sequel will hit theaters on November 11. Ryan Coogler returns to direct. The film will star Angela Bassett, Winston Duke, Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, and Michaela Coel.