In its debut weekend in theaters, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” the sequel to the afro-futuristic Marvel movie that blew up in 2018, largely dominated the North American box office, according to data released on Sunday by trade group Exhibitor Relations.
Over $330 million worth of tickets were sold for the opening weekend of Marvel Studios’ Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
According to distributors for The Walt Disney Company, it broke the record for November box office receipts in both the United States and Canada.
The picture is a sequel to the Oscar-nominated 2018 Black Panther, and according to distributors, it made the most ever for a November film opening weekend in national theaters, grossing close to $180 million from Thursday night through Sunday.
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, the previous record holder, debuted in November 2013 with $158.1 million domestically.
Wakanda Forever made $150 million from Wednesday to Sunday outside of the home market. According to Disney, the movie had the largest weekend box office take in any market.
“Wakanda Forever” pays a heartfelt tribute to Chadwick Boseman, the star of the original “Black Panther,” who died in 2020 of colon cancer at age 43.
The actor makes appearances in flashbacks as T’Challa, the ruler of the fictional African kingdom of Wakanda.
After T’Challa’s death, Wakanda finds itself at odds with world powers, including an undersea kingdom, and struggling to maintain its autonomy.
The film stars Letitia Wright as T’Challa’s sister Shuri, Angela Bassett as Queen Ramonda, and Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira and Winston Duke.
The 2018 “Black Panther”, the first blockbuster starring a black superhero, became a cultural phenomenon and earned more than 1.3 billion dollars in revenue, collecting an Oscar nomination for Best Picture along the way.