As reported by Variety, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, with a production budget of $250 million, broke the record for the highest November opening weekend in North American box office history, surpassing the $158 million brought in by The Hunger Games: Catching Fire of 2013. While Black Panther: Wakanda Forever surpassed Thor: Love and Thunder for its $143 million domestic opening, it couldn’t compare to Doctor Stange’s $187.3 million opening weekend in the Multiverse of Madness. That said, second place in 2022 is no small feat. All three of those films, however, pale in comparison to the $260 million opening of 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home. Speaking of comparison, the original Black Panther brought in $202 million domestically in its opening weekend. It’s important to note that we live in a very different world than we did back then, as the COVID-19 pandemic is still affecting cinemas and China and Russia aren’t as much in the picture right now. Any way you look at it, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever had an incredibly strong opening weekend, and the team clearly made an incredibly moving film that honored the late Chadwick Boseman. The Black Panther star who played King T’Challa died aged 43 in 2020 after a four-year battle with cancer. In our review of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, we said “it’s at its most effective when it pays homage to its fallen king, and strong performances from the returning cast keep it alive through its occasionally choppy plot.” Most other films chose not to tackle the behemoth that is Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and only one notable film, Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans, had a limited release. Spielberg’s latest film opened in just four theaters in New York and Los Angeles and grossed $160,000. It will open wide on November 23rd. After three weekends at the top of the box office, Black Adam took second place with domestic box office sales reaching $8.6 million. Dwayne Johnson’s attempt to change the hierarchy in the DCEU surpassed $151 million domestically and $353 million worldwide. Black Adam earned $67 million in its domestic debut. George Clooney and Julia Roberts’ Ticket to Paradise was third with $6.1 million, Lyle, Lyle Crocodile was fourth with $3.2 million and Smile rounded out the top five with $2.3 million. For more on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, check out our ending scene explainer and post-credits, nine burning questions we have after watching the latest MCU film, how Namor’s past might shape the future of the X-Men and how you can watch our live Black Panther: Wakanda Forever spoilercast. Do you have a tip for us? Want to discuss a potential story? Send an email to [email protected] Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.
