'Black Panther' sequel vies for 2022's best opening, to relief of theaters
A long-suffering box office is set for major relief over the weekend, with Marvel (NYSE:DIS) back to save the day (as it has a few dozen times before).
After a lackluster few months broken up mainly by some success from rival DC in the form of Black Adam (NASDAQ:WBD), Marvel's Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (DIS) is set to put up some huge, possibly year's-best figures.
The sequel drew an impressive $28M just in Thursday previews, putting it likely into high-middle Marvel territory; earlier in 2022, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (DIS) pulled $36M in Thursday previews before marking 2022's best opening, of $187M.
Wakanda Forever's predecessor, Black Panther, drew $25M in Thursday previews in 2018 before opening to $202M (then the fifth best opening of all time). That film went on to log the sixth-highest cumulative domestic grosses of all time ($700.4M), as well as a worldwide total of $1.35B, a bona fide Disney all-time hit.
That suggests some potentially pandemic-best figures to come over the weekend. The sequel is opening without the first film's lead actor, Chadwick Boseman, who died of cancer in 2020.
Wakanda Forever is also taking the premium-format screen focus, as theaters such as IMAX (IMAX) turn attention to it at the expense of Black Adam (WBD), set to lose its three-week grip on the top spot. Black Adam led with $18.3M last week, ahead of Crunchyroll's (SONY) One Piece Film: Red with $9.3M; Ticket to Paradise (CMCSA), with $8.5M; and horror hit Smile (PARA) (PARAA), with $4M.
Rival studios have mostly cleared the decks for Marvel; of note is a limited release of Steven Spielberg autobiographical drama The Fabelmans (CMCSA), a soft launch into just four coastal theaters before expanding later in the month.
Ready to ring the registers are the exhibitors: Cinema tickers: AMC Entertainment (NYSE:AMC); Cineworld (OTCPK:CNNWQ); Cinemark (NYSE:CNK); (IMAX); Marcus (MCS); Reading International (RDI); Cineplex (CGX:CA); National CineMedia (NCMI).