Marvel’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever debuts in theaters this Friday. This movie is the sequel to Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther, after the passing of actor Chadwick Boseman.
Directed by Coogler and co-written by Coogler and Joe Robert Cole, the sequel sees leaders of African nations grapple with the untimely death of their ruler and struggle to save their communities from peril. The movie explores themes of death, grief and legacy.
The first Black Panther movie brought Wakanda to the spotlight in a monumental way, as it was the first major superhero film with a predominantly Black cast, and set new standards with historic Oscar nominations and wins. Black Panther was ranked as the second highest-grossing film of the year, grossing $700 million in North America and $1.3 billion worldwide.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is expected to make at least $175 million in its first three days of release. But given the hype surrounding Disney’s spectacular return to the vibrant African nation, there’s optimism that initial earnings could reach $185 million to $200 million over the weekend.
Internationally, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is expected to add another $155 million to $195 million as the film lands in every country except China and Russia. The tentpole looks to surpass over $350 million worldwide by Sunday. Those ticket sales will allow Wakanda Forever to overtake Black Adam, starring Dwayne Johnson, which earned $330 million in theaters worldwide after three weeks.
However, the coveted box office milestone may not be achieved as easily as the first Black Panther movie. This is because Wakanda Forever doesn’t have a release date for China or Russia. The first movie earned $105 million in China and $19.2 million in Russia.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever runs a total of two hours and 41 minutes and is expected to cross the billion dollar mark.
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