'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' crosses $400 mn globally in 1 week, Christmas OTT release on the cards

In just one week since its release, Marvel Cinematic Universe's much-anticipated 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' has managed to cross the $400 million mark at the global box-office.

Since its release last Friday (November 11), the 'Black Panther' sequel has garnered $213 million in North America (the primary market for Marvel movies) and $187 million came from the 55 overseas markets.

Film trade analyst Ramesh Bala shared the current numbers.


In the first weekend, the movie emerged as the second biggest opener at the North American box-office in 2022, just behind 'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' which collected $187 million after its release on May 6.

In India, another film trade analyst Sumit Kadel said that the movie made $6.40 million (approximately Rs 51.30 crore gross) at the box-office at its opening weekend.


The fans are eagerly waiting for the movie to release, digitally.

Although the official OTT date hasn't been officially announced, it is believed that the superhero movie will make its digital debut on Christmas.

As earlier trends suggest, every new Marvel movie makes its debut on Disney+ Hotstar 45 days after its theatrical release. Hence, it is safe to assume that people's Christmas may be a Wakanda special.

According to Variety, the sequel has demolished the record for a November opening. It surpassed previous record holder 'Hunger Games: Catching Fire' which earned $158 million in 2013.

The sentiments suggest that the superhero adventure will soon make it to the 10th position in the Hollywood Top 10 grossing movie list for 2022. Currently, the list includes Tom Holland-Mark Wahlberg-starrer 'Uncharted' with a collection of $401.7 million, while 'Top Gun: Maverick' tops the list with $1.486 billion.

Variety said that the film's success has a bittersweet undercurrent. The filmmakers faced a shocking off-screen tragedy before production even commenced when Chadwick Boseman, the actor who essayed the lead role in the 2018's 'Black Panther', passed away in 2020 from cancer at the age of 43.

Director and co-writer Ryan Coogler decided to re-fashion 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' into a tribute to the late actor. In the movie, the kingdom of Wakanda is grappling with the death of King T'Challa - an art-imitates-life situation that gave the film greater emotional resonance.

The Marvel movie also faced other hurdles. The $250-million production was shot in the midst of Covid and also had to contend with an injury to one of its stars, Letitia Wright, that required filming to be suspended.