Marvel Studios are still looking for the first billion-dollar movie of 2022, and with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Thor: Love and Thunder falling short of the magic milestone, it is now left to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever to bring home the title of Marvel’s higher grossing movie of the year. Based on the projections for the movie’s opening weekend it seems that could well be guaranteed, with the sequel set for a $180-$225 million debut. To put this in context, the original Black Panther opened to $202 million and went on to pass $1 billion back in 2018, and hopes are high for more of the same from the Wakandans this time around.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
While estimates have recently been hit or miss, with the Covid pandemic playing havoc with predictions, there are two simple scenarios for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. If it hits the lower end of the scale, the movie will still have one of the biggest openings of Phase Four, if it reaches the top end it will be one of Marvel’s highest-grossing opening weekends ever. With the movie acting as a tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman, which will see the Wakandan population mourning the loss of T’Challa in a mirroring that will not be lost on fans, there is a lot of interest in how the movie will move on the story of Wakanda, and that could well help the movie easily challenge the $200 million milestone on its debut.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Is a Love Letter To Chadwick Boseman
Marvel Studios
According to many interviews by the stars of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the sequel is certainly going to honor the memory of original Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman following his tragic death in 2020. While Kevin Feige was adamant that there would not be a recasting of Boseman’s character T’Challa, there will be a new Black Panther emerges from the movie, and there is still speculation about who will be taking over the title. As well as being referenced as a “love-letter” to Boseman by stars such as Letitia Wright, the film also has to deal with a new threat to the Wakandan’s way of life. The movie’s logline explains:
As the final movie of Marvel’s Phase Four, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will be a bookend to the MCU’s reaction of the events of Avengers: Endgame, and will usher in Phase Five and the true start of the Multiverse Saga. Marvel Studios will be hoping that it rounds out the phase on a high as one of the highest-grossing movies of the MCU.
“In Marvel Studios’ ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,’ Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), Shuri (Letitia Wright), M’Baku (Winston Duke), Okoye (Danai Gurira) and the Dora Milaje (including Florence Kasumba), fight to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s death. As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, the heroes must band together with the help of War Dog Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) and Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) and forge a new path for the kingdom of Wakanda.”
