Talk of Marvel’s Black Panther has swept the nation – nay the world.
Leading up to February 16th, the Ryan Coogler-directed spinoff began to establish itself as the must-see movie of 2018 – second only to Avengers: Infinity War. Box office projections were quickly adjusted, and though Black Panther became shackled with a great deal of expectation, Marvel’s Afrocentric epic delivered the goods. And then some.
It’s arguably one of the most accomplished MCU movies to date (our review), with a nuanced and, crucially, believable villain set against the lush realm of Wakanda. And sure enough, Black Panther earned a staggering $200m-plus across its four-day opening weekend in North America. Those numbers will only continue to climb as time wears on, particularly as fans flock to see Coogler’s Marvel masterpiece piece three or four or ten times over. And it seems the director has even impressed Chris Pratt of Guardians of the Galaxy.
The Star-Lord actor, who will be assisting Thor’s quest for a new weapon in Avengers: Infinity War, took to Twitter earlier this afternoon to declare his love for all things Black Panther: “The hype is real!”
THE HYPE IS REAL!! Woke up thinking about #BlackPanther It’s like a Bond movie meets Shakespearean tragedy. Great action. Stunning visuals. Exceptional performances all around. Thought provoking AND Funny! @chadwickboseman @letitiawright @michaelb4jordan @DanaiGurira 👏🏻
— Chris Pratt (@prattprattpratt) February 19, 2018
As for Black Panther, well, the sky’s the limit as far as ticket sales are concerned. The latest figures place the film’s current gross at $404 million worldwide, indicating that the billion-dollar mark is well within reach. Should T’Challa bound all the way to $1 billion, BP will become only the fifth MCU movie to do so, after Civil War ($1.15 billion), Iron Man 3 ($1.21 billion), Age of Ultron ($1.405 billion) and Joss Whedon’s The Avengers ($1.51 billion). Wakanda forever, indeed.
