Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has debuted to a vibranium-strong $330 million global weekend box office victory, as it earned $180 million domestically and $150 million overseas.
As reported by Variety, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which had a $250 million production budget, broke the record for the highest November opening weekend in North American box office history by surpassing the $158 million brought in by 2013's The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.
While Black Panther: Wakanda Forever beat out Thor: Love and Thunder's $143 million domestic opening, it couldn't match the $187.3 million opening weekend of Doctor Stange in the Multiverse of Madness. That being said, second place in 2022 is no small feat. All three of these movies, 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 we are living in a much different world than we were back then, as the COVID-19 pandemic is still impacting theaters and China and Russia are not as much in the picture at the moment.
No matter how 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 passed away at the age of 43 in 2020 after a four-year battle with cancer.
In our Black Panther: Wakanda Forever review, we said that it "is at its most effective when paying tribute to its fallen king, and strong performances from the returning cast keep it afloat through its occasionally choppy plot."
Most other films chose not to battle the behemoth that is Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and only one notable film, Steven Spielberg's The Fabelmans, saw a limited release. Spielbergs' latest film opened in just four theaters in NYC and LA and earned $160,000. It will open wide on November 23.
After three weekends atop the box office, Black Adam placed second with domestic box office sales reaching $8.6 million. Dwayne Johnson's attempt to change the hierarchy in the DCEU has crossed $151 million domestically and $353 million worldwide. Black Adam earned $67 million in its domestic debut.
George Clooney and Julia Roberts' Ticket to Paradise took third with $6.1 million, Lyle, Lyle Crocodile placed 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 explainer of the ending and post-credits scene, nine burning questions we have after watching the latest MCU film, how Namor's past just may set up the X-Men's future, and how you can watch our live Black Panther: Wakanda Forever spoilercast.
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Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.
source https://www.ign.com/articles/black-panther-wakanda-forever-debuts-to-a-180-million-domestic-weekend-box-office-victory