A serious question for WoR readers: Is anybody actually looking forward to “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”?
The trailer looked awful and, although the very talented Ryan Coogler is back directing, there will be no Michael B. Jordan, no Daniel Kaluuya and, obviously, the late Chadwick Boseman isn’t here either.
Back in September, Variety had a dire warning concerning the box-office projections for “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” they claimed it would make around 40% what the original grossed in 2018.
I found this estimation highly unusual given that sequels tend to gross more than their predecessors, but the cards have indeed been stacked against the sequel with none of the original’s three main stars back for this next chapter.
Variety’s Bret Lang is now reporting a $175 million opening projection for ‘Wakanda Forever.’ That’s way more than I was led to believe. If that figure holds, it will be the second biggest debut of 2022, just behind the $187.4 million “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” made this past Spring.
The original “Black Panther” opened to $202 million in 2018. Marvel has been making almost the exact same movie for 15 years now and they’re still cashing in with ever prequel, sequel, origin story etc.