Despite the presence of New Line’s Black Adam and Universal’s franchise title Halloween Ends at the October box office, the drought we’ve been facing since August’s second frame with US/Canada weekend ticket sales averaging $58 million was at least stung. .
But here comes Disney Marvel Studios’ Black Panther: Wakanda Forever to put the world back on its feet.
A scene from Marvel Studios’ Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2022 MARVEL. Miracle Expect Ryan Coogler’s director and script for the 3x Oscar-winning, $1.3 billion worldwide box office hit to make between $175 and $185 million stateside in 4,300 theaters and another $180 million overseas for a worldwide start between $355 and $365 million. It’s the third-highest debut of the pandemic behind Spider-Man: No Way Home ($568 million) and Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness ($429 million). This is more than enough to underline the idea that cinema viewing isn’t dead, it’s just a product.
That said, expect Wakanda Forever to rule for a while. It wouldn’t be surprising if it even surpassed Disney’s animated Thanksgiving title, Strange World, during Thanksgiving. It’s that spirit of a movie, and as we saw with F7 and how that title honored its late star Paul Walker, we expect a cathartic experience to be applied here with Wakanda Forever in its profound tribute to late Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman.
There’s a very good chance that Wakanda Forever will reign supreme in December until Disney comes out with 20th Century Studios’ highly anticipated sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, on December 16th.
Yes, there is a lack of major product in the fourth quarter because many are stuck in post-pandemic production purgatory, however, many major studios are making conscious decisions not to book expensive counterprogramming in the off-season. Going by what they learned last Christmas, the presence of a major blockbuster like Sony/Marvel’s Spider-Man: No Way Home wasn’t a situation where the tide rose for all boats. In fact, the only other film to earn more than $100 million to Spidey’s $814.1 million was Universal/Illumination’s Sing 2 with $162.7 million. Warner Bros has moved DC’s Shazam: Fury of the Gods out of Christmas to hit Imax screens on March 17 next year.
Disney With the first trailer for Wakanda Forever taking off like a rocket from the prestigious San Diego Comic-Con panel in July, the selling point for Wakanda Forever was which of the women in T’Challa’s court would take on the mask. . However, the film is much more than that, and critics are realizing it at 91% fresh right now on Rotten Tomatoes. An added benefit to the turnstiles is that the majority of schools are closed on Friday, Veterans Day. Of course, Disney has control of all premium ticket supplies, including 400 Imax, 900 premium large format screens. 2,800 3D screens, as well as ScreenX and D-Box. The first Black Panther opened to $202 million in the US/Canada over the weekend of February 16-18, 2018, and thanks to Presidents Day, it earned a four-day total of $242.1 million. From left: Alex Livinalli, Mabel Cadena, 2022. Courtesy Everett Collection Marvel Among the demographics, while Disney can rely on men and fans in positions, there has been a push to increase interest among women in part 2. In the helpless awareness, which means that the show that has already decided that they will go to Wakanda Forever without any marketing influence, the sequel is in line with Black Panther and Spider-Man: No Way Home among teenage boys and men under 25. The Latino and Spanish-speaking audience is very strong, ahead of Doctor Strange 2, thanks to the new villain Namor played by Narcos: Mexican star Tenoch Huerta Mejía.
Wakanda Forever begins its overseas release tomorrow, Wednesday, in majors including France, Germany, Korea and Italy. and adds all international markets until Friday except Russia and China.
The $180M+ overseas debut is higher than recent figures in similar markets and at today’s rates, including Thor: Love & Thunder ($163M), Jurassic World Dominion ($152M) and The Batman ($114 million). It’s also higher than the original Black Panther ($144 million). Another mainstay is Doctor Strange 2 which slipped to $242 million like-for-like.
Wakanda Forever could certainly top $180 million, but there are a few factors, like the very strong dollar going against the international ticket, while Korea, which was the No. 3 overseas market in the first film, is coming. from a period of mourning following a national tragedy. Since Wakanda Forever deals with grief and loss, the movie could either work or be a little too early. Hopefully, for the public, it will be the first.
Lupita Nyong’o attends the African premiere of Marvel Studios’ ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ on November 6, 2022 in Lagos, Nigeria Getty Images/Still Moving The team made the rounds with a European premiere in London last week, followed by a historic event in Lagos, Nigeria on Sunday – the first time a Marvel film has premiered in the country – and a launch in Mexico City. Screening events have also been held in major cities such as Paris and Berlin.
In the first Black Panther, the top five international markets were China, the United Kingdom, Korea, Brazil, and France. Whether Wakanda Forever will make it to China is still up in the air, but there hasn’t been a Marvel movie approved since Avengers: Endgame in 2019, and overall the market just hasn’t been playing ball with Hollywood in the last year.
“The Fabelmans” Universal Expect a loud pop on the specialty side with the Steven Spielberg-directed autobiography The Fabelmans finally kicking off its TIFF world premiere in September, where the picture won the Oscar bellwether trophy, The People’s Choice Award. The Amblin-Universal Pictures title launches its platform in four theaters in New York and Los Angeles: Lincoln Square and Union Square in New York and The Grove and Century City in Los Angeles. The film starring Paul Dano, Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen, Judd Hirsch and Gabriel LaBelle is released on Wednesday, November 23. Rotten Tomatoes critics love it at 94% Fresh.
