‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ notches record opening for November
Written by laserteam on November 14, 2022
(CNN) – “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” had the major challenge of following “Black Panther,” one of the biggest blockbusters ever, and had to do so without star Chadwick Boseman, who passed away in 2020.
Despite all of the challenges, “Wakanda Forever” notched a sizable box office opening this weekend. The Marvel movie opened to an estimated $180 million in North America, according to the film’s studio, Disney.
The opening represents one of the best premieres of the year and makes the superhero film the highest-grossing debut ever for the month of November. The original record belonged to “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” which made $158 million in November 2013. The box office haul comes in around where most in Hollywood were predicting.
The film has made $330 million globally so far.
Audiences also likely bought a ticket to “Wakanda Forever” to see how the film and director Ryan Coogler would handle the passing of Boseman. In an interview with Empire magazine in September, Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige said “It just felt like it was much too soon” to recast the late actor. Boseman died at age 43 from colon cancer.
As for its critical reception, “Wakanda Forever” notched an 84% score on review site Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences also gave the film an “A” on CinemaScore.
“‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ faced an inordinate degree of difficulty, addressing the tragic death of Chadwick Boseman,” Brian Lowry, CNN’s media critic, wrote in his review. “That the movie manages to strike that somber chord and still deliver as Marvel-style entertainment represents a major accomplishment.”
