Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – Domestic
Monday afternoon update: Disney’s weekend actuals for the film came in higher than expected, with $181.3M domestic.
Sunday update: Disney and Marvel Studios’ superhero sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever earned an estimated $180.0M this weekend. That’s about in line with pre-release projections, which hovered in the $170M-$205M range.
That opening is:
- -10% behind 2018’s original Black Panther ($202.0M)
- #13 biggest opening weekend of all time, between 2018’s Incredibles 2 ($182.6M) and 2016’s Captain America: Civil War ($179.1M)
- #2 opening weekend of 2022 so far, behind only May’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ($187.4M) and above June’s Jurassic World: Dominion ($145.0M)
- The #1 November opening weekend of all time, beating the previous record, 2013’s The Hunger Games: Catching Fire ($158.0M)
- #8 opening weekend in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), behind:
- 2019’s Avengers: Endgame ($357.1M)
- 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home ($260.1M)
- 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War ($257.6M)
- 2012’s The Avengers ($207.4M)
- 2018’s Black Panther ($202.0M)
- 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron ($191.2M)
- May’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ($187.4M)
Wakanda is playing in 4,396 theaters. That’s the #24 widest release of all time, and #8 widest so far in 2022.
Its $40,946 per-theater average marks the #4 average of 2022 so far, behind only the opening weekends of March’s Everything Everywhere All at Once ($50,131), October’s The Banshees of Inisherin ($46,114), May’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ($41,337),
Wakanda‘s domestic audience was an estimated 52% male and 63% ages 25+. (Disney didn’t break down the opening weekend demographics by race.)
Premium formats comprised 34% of the earnings, including 13% premium large format, 11% from 3D, and 8% from IMAX.
The title received an “A” CinemaScore.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – Overseas
Opening in 50 overseas markets, including an early rollout on Wednesday in some territories, Wakanda opened with $180M, for a $330M global start.
That marks the MCU’s #11 global debut, though it comes in -5% behind 2018’s original Black Panther.
The previous installment would go on to earn $105.0M from China, although it opened there three weeks after its global debut. A Chinese release for the sequel has yet to be confirmed.
Wakanda’s top overseas markets to date include:
- U.K. ($15.0M)
- France ($13.7M)
- Mexico ($12.8M)
- South Korea ($8.9M)
- Brazil ($7.1M)
- Australia ($6.8M)
- India ($6.4M)
- Indonesia ($6.1M)
- Germany ($6.1M)
- Italy ($4.2M)
Black Adam
After taking the box office crown for the past three straight frames, the Warner Bros. DC Comics adaptation Black Adam fell -53% to $8.6M and second place.
Through 24 days, it’s now earned $151.1M. Compared to some comparable DC Comics adaptations through the equivalent point in release, that’s:
- +15% above 2019’s Shazam! ($131.2M)
- -47% below 2018’s Aquaman ($287.9M), even though its opening weekend was only +1% ahead of Adam
Compared to other comparable titles starring Dwayne Johnson through the equivalent point in release, Adam is running:
- -42% below 2017’s Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle ($262.2M)
- -35% below 2019’s Jumanji: The Next Level ($235.9M)
- -1% below 2016’s Moana ($153.2M), to the extent that the animated title is a valid comparison
- +2% above 2019’s Hobbs & Shaw ($147.6M)
- +13% above 2015’s San Andreas ($132.6M)
- +78% above 2018’s Rampage ($84.8M)
Compared to comparable superhero titles from rival Marvel Studios which opened in the same range, Adam is running:
- -22% behind 2021’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings ($196.2M)
- Less than +1% above 2021’s Eternals ($150.7M)
Overseas, Adam has earned $201.1M, for a $352.2M global total. Top market totals include:
- U.K. ($21.1M)
- France ($15.1M)
- Mexico ($13.9M)
- Brazil ($13.5M)
- Australia ($10.7M)
One Piece Film: Red
Last weekend, Crunchyroll’s anime title One Piece Film: Red opened in second place with $9.3M. In its sophomore frame, it falls -84% to $1.4M and eighth place.
That’s perhaps the steepest sophomore drop among prominent anime films of recent years, steeper than:
- 2019’s Dragon Ball Super: Broly (-69%)
- 2021’s Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train (-71%)
- February 2020’s pre-pandemic My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising (-71%)
- 2021’s My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission (-74%)
- March’s Jujutsu Kaisen 0: The Movie (-75%)
- August’s Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero (-78%)
The Fabelmans
Ahead of its wide release over Thanksgiving weekend, Universal’s The Fabelmans debuted in four theaters in New York City and Los Angeles, Steven Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical awards contender earned $160K, for a $40K per-theater average.
That’s the #5 average of 2022 so far, behind only the opening weekends of March’s Everything Everywhere All at Once ($50,131), October’s The Banshees of Inisherin ($46,114), May’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ($41,337), and this weekend’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (estimated $40,000).
It’s possible that when weekend actuals are released Monday afternoon, The Fabelmans could also fall below the opening average of October’s TÁR ($39,655).
Weekend comparisons
Total box office this weekend came in around $207.9M, which is:
- 3.6x last weekend’s total ($56.4M), when Black Adam led for a third consecutive frame with $18.2M.
- +89% above the equivalent weekend in 2021 ($109.6M), when Eternals led with $71.2M.
- +71% above the equivalent weekend in the last pre-pandemic year 2019 ($121.3M), when Midway opened with $17.8M.
This weekend’s box office total marks the #4 frame of 2022 so far, behind only:
- July 8-10 ($238.3M), led by Thor: Love and Thunder ($144.1M)
- May 6-8 ($222.3M), led by Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ($187.4M)
- June 10-12 ($214.8M), led by Jurassic World: Dominion ($145.0M)
YTD comparisons
Year-to-date box office stands around $6.40B. That’s:
- +97.7% this same point in the pandemic recovery year of 2021 ($3.24B), down from +98.5% after last weekend.
- -32.7% behind this same point in 2019, the last pre-pandemic year ($9.52B), up from -33.9% last weekend. The peak was around -29.5%, set in mid-July.
Top distributors
- Universal ($1.40B)
- Paramount ($1.28B)
- Disney ($1.06B)
- Warner Bros. ($917.2M)
- Sony Pictures ($822.8M)
Sunday’s Studio Weekend Estimates:
| Title | Estimated weekend | % change | Locations | Location change | Average | Total | Weekend | Distributor |
| Black Panther: Wakanda Forever | $180,000,000 | 4,396 | $40,946 | $180,000,000 | 1 | Walt Disney | ||
| Black Adam | $8,600,000 | -53% | 3,603 | -382 | $2,387 | $151,123,090 | 4 | Warner Bros. |
| Ticket to Paradise | $6,100,000 | -29% | 3,633 | -433 | $1,679 | $56,512,445 | 4 | Universal |
| Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile | $3,200,000 | -5% | 2,486 | -519 | $1,287 | $40,839,609 | 6 | Sony Pictures |
| Smile | $2,330,000 | -42% | 2,271 | -775 | $1,026 | $102,776,517 | 7 | Paramount |
| Prey for the Devil | $2,010,000 | -48% | 2,164 | -816 | $929 | $16,961,244 | 3 | Lionsgate |
| The Banshees of Inisherin | $1,700,000 | -17% | 960 | 65 | $1,771 | $5,784,663 | 4 | Searchlight Pictures |
| One Piece Film: Red | $1,447,807 | -84% | 2,213 | -154 | $654 | $12,768,073 | 2 | Crunchyroll |
| Till | $618,254 | -67% | 1,358 | -778 | $455 | $8,038,426 | 5 | United Artists |
| Armageddon Time | $352,000 | -56% | 981 | -25 | $359 | $1,582,570 | 3 | Focus Features |
| TÁR | $343,000 | -53% | 359 | -731 | $955 | $4,523,473 | 6 | Focus Features |
| The Woman King | $260,000 | -71% | 513 | -562 | $507 | $66,487,527 | 9 | Sony Pictures |
| Triangle of Sadness | $250,800 | -41% | 184 | -303 | $1,363 | $3,519,637 | 6 | Neon |
| The Fabelmans | $161,000 | 4 | $40,250 | $161,000 | 1 | Universal | ||
| Halloween Ends | $147,000 | -90% | 503 | -2,426 | $292 | $64,041,010 | 5 | Universal |
| Aftersun | $139,960 | 20% | 92 | 47 | $1,521 | $535,023 | 4 | A24 |
| Minions: The Rise of Gru | $86,000 | -34% | 211 | -231 | $408 | $369,347,010 | 20 | Universal |
| Amsterdam | $53,000 | -52% | 170 | -200 | $312 | $14,907,177 | 6 | 20th Century Studios |
| Barbarian | $53,000 | -24% | 45 | -115 | $1,178 | $40,811,903 | 10 | 20th Century Studios |
| The Bad Guys | $45,000 | -61% | 128 | -436 | $352 | $97,223,140 | 30 | Universal |
| Meet Me in the Bathroom | $28,123 | -67% | 20 | 16 | $1,406 | $222,718 | 2 | Utopia |
| Holy Spider | $20,023 | 4% | 8 | 4 | $2,503 | $66,659 | 3 | Utopia |
| RRR: Rise, Roar, Revolt | $10,478 | -4% | 1 | $10,478 | $262,288 | 34 | Sarigama Cinemas | |
| All That Breathes | $4,810 | 3 | $1,603 | $31,858 | 4 | Submarine Deluxe | ||
| Running The Bases | $3,500 | -78% | 8 | -9 | $438 | $1,508,464 | 9 | UP2U Films |
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