Disney’s hugely-anticipated superhero sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever debuted with an excellent $28 million in Thursday previews, narrowly edging out the first Black Panther’s $25 million preview haul back in 2018. This ranks as the third-biggest Thursday haul of 2022 behind two other Marvel Cinematic Universe movies — Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ($36 million) and Thor: Love and Thunder ($29 million).
Wakanda Forever is on track to make around $185 million in its opening weekend, which is less than the $202 million that the first film made in its opening weekend. But the more bullish projections put Wakanda Forever’s opening weekend at $200 million. The first film concluded its run with an astounding $700 million domestic haul — the sixth-biggest tally of all time. It finished with $1.3 billion globally, against a reported budget of $200 million.
Doctor Strange 2 still has the biggest opening weekend of the year so far; it made $187 million in its first three days (including previews) back in May, and finished with over $950 million globally. The less favorably reviewed Love and Thunder grossed $144 million in its opening weekend in July, on its way to a $760 million global haul. Other top weekend debuts of 2022 include Jurassic World Dominion ($145 million), The Batman ($134 million) and Top Gun: Maverick ($126 million). If it hits the higher end of projections, there’s a strong likelihood that Wakanda Forever delivers the biggest opening weekend of the year.
Wakanda Forever has already made $10 million from overseas territories, and is expected to make around $365 million worldwide by Sunday. Directed by Ryan Coogler, who also helmed the first film, the film explores themes of grief and family in the wake of King T’Challa’s death. Production of the film was greatly impacted by the tragic passing of star Chadwick Boseman, who died of cancer in 2020, after privately battling the illness for four years.
Wakanda Forever stars Letitia Wright as Shuri, Lupita Nyong’o as Nakia, Danai Gurira as Okoye, Winston Duke as M’Baku, Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams/Ironheart, Florence Kasumba as Ayo, Michaela Coel as Aneka, Angela Bassett as Queen Mother Ramonda, Mabel Cadena as Namora, Alex Livinalli as Attuma, Martin Freeman as Everett Ross, and Tenoch Huerta Mejía as the villainous Namor.
The film is playing now in theaters. You can watch our interview with Coogler here, and stay tuned to Collider for more detailed box office coverage over the weekend.