Marvel’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” earned $84 million on its opening day (incl. $28 million in Thursday previews), the second biggest opening day of the year behind only the $90.4 million earned by “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”.
It’s good news for the film, even as estimates of a weekend gross of $185-200 million heading into the weekend now seem a little rosy, with the movie likely to fall a little shy of that range. The ‘Strange’ sequel has the biggest opening weekend of the year with a $187 million three-day debut in May.
Still, exhibitors are celebrating as the movie delivers the first title since “Thor: Love and Thunder” back in July to open above $100 million. To show how big it has been, the movie’s opening weekend is expected to outgross the $150 million of revenue in several weeks that second place film “Black Adam” has brought in thus far.
Reviews for the film have been more mixed than for its predecessor but still mostly positive, with an 84% approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes (76% from top critics). The audience score seems more pleased at 95% on the site and an ‘A’ grade from exit poll research firm Cinema Score. That’s above the B+ the other two Marvel films earned this year.
The film doesn’t face another high-profile contender until Disney’s animated adventure tale “Strange World” releases over Thanksgiving weekend.
The Julia Roberts-George Clooney rom-com “Ticket to Paradise” will come in third with a drop of only 26%. Since its release a month ago, it has earned roughly 3.5x its opening weekend gross and has had great staying power in cinemas.
“Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile” will come in fourth and “Smile” in fifth. In limited release, Steven Spielberg’s highly praised semi-autobiographical drama “The Fabelmans” is on track for a $36,000 per theater average across four screens.
Source: Variety
