In the past six months alone, there have been a great number of box office shocks – both domestic, and worldwide.
Take Jumanji, for instance. Not a single person – not even Dwayne Johnson – could have predicted that Sony’s sequel would cross $800 million, while New Line’s It reboot quickly morphed into a box office monster back in September. Granted, they couldn’t be more different, but both movies made history in their own right. And if there’s one 2018 release that will be aiming for a place among the box office elite, it’s Black Panther.
Marvel and Ryan Coogler’s all-star actioner has been riding the crest of a wave ever since it was officially unveiled to the masses at San Diego Comic-Con last year, and with critics already gushing over Black Panther and its nuanced, kick-ass villain – expect the full reviews to go live tomorrow, February 6th – industry analysts have turned in some pretty high projections for the film’s four-day opening weekend.
How high, you ask? Try $150 million, while a new, long-range forecast tips Black Panther to break $400 million domestic before its theatrical run comes to an end.
That’s a staggering figure by anyone’s standard, and would make Black Panther one of the most successful superhero movies in history. For the sake of perspective, a $400 million gross in North America would place it higher than Thor: Ragnarok ($314 million) and Spider-Man: Homecoming ($334 million), and bring it closer in line with the genre’s crème de la crème: Sam Raimi’s original Spider-Man ($403.7 million), Shane Black’s Iron Man 3 ($409 million), and Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman ($412.5 million).
Chalk this up as an early estimate for now, though, as Black Panther is still waiting for its time to shine. Mind you, it won’t be too much longer before T’Challa is unleashed, as the Ryan Coogler spinoff is all set to become the final pre-Infinity War Marvel movie on February 16th.
