The Wakandan epic did good numbers at the box office, earning $454 million domestically and $389 million internationally. Those totals put the film at a final worldwide gross of $859 million USD with Disney taking home just over half that at $450 million.
This $859 million worldwide number puts the film roughly $500 million behind Black Panther's $1.382 billion total from 2018.
Black Panther 2 also brought in an additional $155 million in home entertainment revenue and another $170 million from TV/streaming.
That all means, when all was said and done, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever generated a total of $750 million, but did it turn a profit?
Factoring production costs ($200 million), print and advertising ($140 million), video costs ($55 million), residuals ($30 million), interest and overhead ($36 million), and participations ($30 million), Black Panther 2 cost $491 million to make, advertise, and distribute.
That means, when all was said and done, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever ended up turning an estimated profit of $259 million.
This is significantly less than the $476.8 million profit mark set by the original Black Panther film. However, one has to remind themselves that Wakanda Forever was released into a theatrical environment that is recovering after years of the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Another variable here is the significant lack of a Chinese release for the film. Wakanda Forever only recently started playing in the Chinese market, something that accounted for $105 million of Black Panther's original worldwide box office total.
When compared to 2022's Thor: Love and Thunder, Wakanda Forever fared much better, more than doubling Love and Thunder's take-home profit of $103 million.
Was Black Panther 2 a Success?
So, with all that data, was Black Panther: Wakanda Forever actually a success for Disney and Marvel Studios? The simple answer is, yes.
Ryan Coogler's Wakanda sequel was a worthy endeavor, getting into the black by quite a bit.
Sure, it may have underperformed when compared to its predecessor in Black Panther, but that is a lofty bar to strive for, especially given the circumstances under which Wakanda Forever was made and released.
One has to remember the first Black Panther film was a cultural phenomenon, as Marvel Studios built anticipation for the (then) imminent Avengers: Infinity War. The 2018 film currently sits as the 15th biggest box office hit of all time, and — while its sequel had the chance to get up there — it was never already starting from behind given the state of the theatrical business.