411 Box Office Report: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Rules With $180 Million

Wakanda reigned supreme at the box office this weekend as Black Panther: Wakanda Forever dominated the competition. The MCU sequel crushed all competitors as expected with a $180 million opening weekend. That’s the best opening at the box office since the film’s MCU sibling Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness got off to a $185.4 million start back in May. It also marks the record for the best opening weekend in November, eclipsing the $158 million start of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire back in 2013.

The start is on par with expectations, albeit slightly on the lower end of the $180 million to $200 million window that most expected it to do. A $200 million start was always a bit unrealistic, however. While anticipation was of course very high for the film, there were several factors weighing against it including the expansive two hour & 41 minute running time, the lack of Black Panther star Chadwick Bowman (who of course passed away in 2020), and is outside of the traditional summer and holiday weekends that afford for larger box offices.

Regardless of expectations, this is a great result for the film. Wakanda Forever scored an improvement over the last MCU film, Thor: Love & Thunder which started with $144.2 million in July. And the positive word of mouth around the movie should deliver good results in the coming weekends. The film came into the weekend with good reviews at a 84% aggregated critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, the best for an MCU theatrical release this year. Audience reactions are even better with a 95% RT audience score and an A CinemaScore, which are again the best MCU scores of 2022.

All that translates into another megahit for Marvel Studios and Disney. The film added $150 million overseas for $330 million worldwide, well a path to heavy profit against a reported $250 million budget. With no real direct competition for the next month-plus (until Avatar: The Way Of Water arrives in mid-December), it seems quite possible that the film tops $500 million domestically by the end of its run.

Surprisingly, Black Adam didn’t take much of a hit against its fellow superhero’s big bow. The Dwayne Johnson-starring DCEU superhero movie took in $8.6 million for its fourth weekend, down a reasonable 53% from last weekend. The antihero’s big screen debut is now up to
$151.1 million domestically and $352.2 million worldwide to date. The movie still has a ways to go before it hits profit, especially now that the film is unlikely to release in China. With a $200 million budget it will need to continue its good holds. A $170 million domestic gross seems likely at this point.

Ticket to Paradise continued its strong run, as the romantic comedy slipped a mere 29% in its fourth weekend to $8.5 million. The Julia Roberts & George Clooney film has totalled $56.5 million domestically and $150 million worldwide, a nice hit for Universal Pictures against a $60 million budget. The film now aiming for a $75 million or so domestically before it exits theaters.

Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile is fighting its way toward a potential profit as it continues to post strong numbers week-to-week. The family film was down just 5% in its sixth weekend to $3.2 million, bringing its totals to $40.8 million domestically and $72.6 million worldwide. It still has a long climb and will need to keep holding on incredibly well to break even due to the $50 million budget, but it is currently looking at a domestic total around $50 million.

Smile continues to push its profit margins higher and higher, as it posted $2.3 million in its seventh weekend for a 42% drop. The Finn Parker-directed horror film has nailed down $102.8 million domestically and $210 million worldwide. It’s now looking like to close out stateside with around $110 million domestically, a huge hit for Paramount.

Prey for the Devil’s was down 48% in its third weekend to $2 million. The possession movie has grossed $17 million domestically and $26.2 million worldwide, moderate numbers for what is likely a fairly inexpensive film. We don’t know the budget for the movie, but it should be able to close out with around $23 million stateside.

The Banshees of Inisherin was down a solid 17% as it expanded its theater count a bit, bringing in $1.7 million. The Colin Farrell & Brendan Gleeson starrer is now up to $5.8 million domestically and $14.4 million worldwide. With a $10 million budget, it should end up breaking even but is unlikely to be a hit. The domestic total should end at around $10 million.

Anime films tend to fall hard after their opening weekends, and One Piece Film: Red was no exception. The fantasy action-adventure grossed $1.4 million this weekend, down a massive 85% from last weekend’s numbers. That’s the heaviest second-weekend drop for an anime and, in fact the heaviest drop of any wide release in history. But again, the domestic profits are just extra for Crunchyroll. The film has $12.8 million domestically and $151.8 million worldwide. It will probably bring in around $15 million domestically all in all.

Till was off 67% from last weekend, bringing in $618,254. The historical drama now sits at $8 million. No word on its budget yet, but it should close out around $10 million.

Coming in at #10 was Armageddon Time. The James Gray-directed coming-of-age drama was down 56% from last weekend and has now grossed $1.6 million over three weekends, with $2.6 million worldwide. The film cost $10 million to make.

Next weekend will see Black Panther: Wakanda Forever reign supreme once again, with new release The Menu targeting around $10 million and She Said looking at about $6 million.

BOX OFFICE TOP TEN (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)
1. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – $180 million ($180 million total, $330 million WW)
2. Black Adam – $8.6 million ($151.1 million total, $352.2 million WW)
3. Ticket to Paradise – $6.1 million ($56.5 million total, $150 million WW)
4. Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile – $3.2 million ($40.8 million total, $72.6 million WW)
5. Smile – $2.3 million ($102.8 million total, $210 million WW)
6. Prey For the Devil – $2 million ($17 million total, $26.2 million WW)
7. The Banshees of Inisherin – $1.7 million ($5.8 million total, $14.4 million WW)
8. One Piece Film: Red – $1.4 million ($12.8 million total, $151.8 million WW)
9. Till – $618,254 ($8 million total, $8 million WW)
10. Armageddon Time – $352,000 ($1.6 million total, $2.6 million total WW)