Black panther box office: What went right

[Username taken]

I think we've all heard the news about BP's insane box office numbers.

Right now, the weekend total stands around $201m (fifth biggest opening ever) and there seems to be a possibility that the movie breaks the all time record for the highest grossing Monday ever. For a character that is definitely not A-list, that's absolutely stunning. Especially when tracking a few weeks ago pointed to a $100-$130 million opening.

The question then arises, what went so right? A few things obviously.

The Marvel brand is absurdly strong right now. At this point, virtually everyone knows what their movies are about and people love what they are selling.

Representation. The movie is probably the first big budget movie to feature an African (not African American) superhero and a depiction of Africa that's never been seen. Black people all over the world are connecting with the movie like they've never done before. Same thing happened with Wonder Woman last year where most women were instantly attracted to the movie and it's depiction of a female superhero.

These are just a few things I can think of but I still wonder how this carried the movie to a $200 million+ opening.

[Dark Soul # 7]

It also helped that the movie is just really well made. It's one of the most polished action movies I've seen in years and the entire cast delivered fantastic performances.

[Midvillian1322]

Marvels brand is strong but that didn get any movies last year this kinda money. Spidey made 120 something i think. GoTG 2 a little more. Cultural impact only got WW 110m ot something like that opening weekend. I think BP was just alot of things coming together at the right time. Marvel brand,Culutral movement,amazing marketing, and a very different a beautiful looking movie... Oh and lets not forget Black Panther was insanely popular in Civil War. When that movie came out toys r us had the mask and claw toy set on back order(was basicaly the only BP toy they had). Oh and the director is one of the best up a comers in hollywood(Not that the averahe joe knows whp Ryan Coogler is. So this dont mean much actualy.)


I bet the next Infinity war Trailer has a extra dose of Black Panther.

The fact that a Black Panther movie doubled a justice league movies opening weeked. Or beat an avengers movie is insane( It beat AoU by a couple million right?)

[Colossus1980]

BP has set an unattainable standard for all solo debut superhero movies. I wonder if Aquaman will unfairly be compared to BP since he's the next big solo debut and from the DCEU. No, I'm going to adamantly ignore that horrible movie Venom.

[Sighphi]

For a character that is definitely not A-list, that's absolutely stunning.

The Marvel brand is absurdly strong right now. At this point, virtually everyone knows what their movies are about and people love what they are selling.

Those two sentence in the same post does not compute.

Representation. The movie is probably the first big budget movie to feature an African (not African American) superhero and a depiction of Africa that's never been seen.

I guess Blade doesnt count cause...... he is British, right?

Black people all over the world are connecting with the movie like they've never done before. Same thing happened with Wonder Woman last year where most women were instantly attracted to the movie and it's depiction of a female superhero.

Pretty sure that big box office take included all people.

BP has set an unattainable standard for all solo debut superhero movies

Please, these records keep being broken. It's happening.

[Username taken]

Those two sentence in the same post does not compute.

Huh? This doesn't make any sense.

I guess Blade doesnt count cause...... he is British, right?

Re-read what I wrote.

Pretty sure that big box office take included all people.

In the US-

37% African-American when the usual percentage for movies is 16%.

It's an unusually high number.

[Username taken]

Marvels brand is strong but that didn get any movies last year this kinda money. Spidey made 120 something i think. GoTG 2 a little more. Cultural impact only got WW 110m ot something like that opening weekend. I think BP was just alot of things coming together at the right time. Marvel brand,Culutral movement,amazing marketing, and a very different a beautiful looking movie... Oh and lets not forget Black Panther was insanely popular in Civil War. When that movie came out toys r us had the mask and claw toy set on back order(was basicaly the only BP toy they had). Oh and the director is one of the best up a comers in hollywood(Not that the averahe joe knows whp Ryan Coogler is. So this dont mean much actualy.)


I bet the next Infinity war Trailer has a extra dose of Black Panther.

The fact that a Black Panther movie doubled a justice league movies opening weeked. Or beat an avengers movie is insane( It beat AoU by a couple million right?)

That's the thing, none of the more "popular" superhero movies last year did anything close to this (it actually beat AOU by about $10 million or so).

It's just insane.

[JKtheMac]

Apart form the insane hype you have to lay most of the credit down to the Director in a movie like this. It is very well put together has a great script and contains layers of meaning that will appeal to a wider audience than just comic fans. All of that gives it word of mouth.

Any movie that has this much hype, and then when people ask them what it was like they provide a good review, is going to be a big hit.

[Sandfall]

A couple of factors.

Marvel Brand
Political statement
Social representation
Flawless PR
A well polished word of mouth from critics
Race Awareness.

To think that this movie did so well when it is the same as the first Thor movie is absolutely stunning.

[Sandfall]

BP has set an unattainable standard for all solo debut superhero movies. I wonder if Aquaman will unfairly be compared to BP since he's the next big solo debut and from the DCEU. No, I'm going to adamantly ignore that horrible movie Venom.

If Venom turns out better than Thor 1. It could be better than Black Panther. The year is going to go fast, it is unlikely that Black Panther will go out as the best comic film of 2018 since the movie is average. If Deadpool 2 is better than its predecessor, we will already have a better comic film than Black Panther.

[Soubhagya]

Marvels brand is strong but that didn get any movies last year this kinda money. Spidey made 120 something i think. GoTG 2 a little more. Cultural impact only got WW 110m ot something like that opening weekend. I think BP was just alot of things coming together at the right time. Marvel brand,Culutral movement,amazing marketing, and a very different a beautiful looking movie... Oh and lets not forget Black Panther was insanely popular in Civil War. When that movie came out toys r us had the mask and claw toy set on back order(was basicaly the only BP toy they had). Oh and the director is one of the best up a comers in hollywood(Not that the averahe joe knows whp Ryan Coogler is. So this dont mean much actualy.)


I bet the next Infinity war Trailer has a extra dose of Black Panther.

The fact that a Black Panther movie doubled a justice league movies opening weeked. Or beat an avengers movie is insane( It beat AoU by a couple million right?)

Wonder Woman was affected by the divided films like BvS and Suicide Squad. DCEU is showing a downward trajectory as audiences are loosing interest. Each film is earning less then the previous one. Wonder Woman however turned out to be really good and thus did really well. Its opening weekend was small it had insane legs. Representation of women is pretty important.

[Carabas]

I guess Blade doesnt count cause...... he is British, right?

No, he doesn't count because his budget was rather tiny.

[JKtheMac]

To think that this movie did so well when it is the same as the first Thor movie is absolutely stunning.

To think that this movie is the same as Thor is misguided on many levels.

[Soubhagya]

Take the Marvel brand which is on a roll particularly after a spectacular last year. Add it with a film which is very significant as a black lead superhero film. Something which is really rare. Last one was Blade or Hancock i think. Superheroes are the in thing right now, so there was an added need for a black lead superhero film now. Throw in stellar reviews and good marketing. I think that's why it succeeded as well as it has.

Black Panther is also something unique. A superhero who is a king of an advanced African nation. There must be some curiosity on that too. Not a big factor as others but its something extra.

Going slightly off topic, there's momentum with Marvel. Something which DCEU for instance does not have on top of its numerous problems.

To think that this movie is the same as Thor is misguided on many levels.

I won't say its the exact same film as Thor. But there are a couple of similarities with that film. Don't you think? Hero who is a prince/king. The crisis extends to the entire kingdom with impact on world outside it. But its still very much a personal problem. A family drama which gives weight to the crisis which is actually political in nature as the hero and villain are competitors to the throne. There's something Shakespearean about it.

[JKtheMac]

I won't say its the exact same film as Thor. But there are a couple of similarities with that film. Don't you think? Hero who is a prince/king. The crisis extends to the entire kingdom with impact on world outside it. But its still very much a personal problem. A family drama which gives weight to the crisis which is actually political in nature as the hero and villain are competitors to the throne. There's something Shakespearean about it.

Yes there are clearly shakesperian influences in both and they both have themes of family / royalty. They are both directed well and are about previously hidden lands.

The similarity stops there.

There is nothing technically about kingship in Thor, he doesn’t actually gain the throne and Thor himself is the one denied his heritage leading to a totally different narrative arc for the protagonist and antagonist alike.

• T’Challa isn’t Thor – they don’t even compare
• Killminger isn’t Loki – their motivations are entirely different

Thor has an overly simplistic plot that never really develops beyond a basic idea.

Its supporting cast all feel somewhat similar and flat.

Thor doesn’t have anything to reflect the structural layers in BP to name a few off the top of my head BP has:

• Traditional / New
• Heritage / Lost Heritage
• Isolationist / Internationalist
• Nature / Nurture
• Colonial / Post-colonial

All-in-all Thor is a completely different and not as good movie.

And bear in mind Thor is my favourite comic character and the character I write more about than any other on these forums. I loved Thor because it had Thor in it. But I recognised it wasn't the best of the bunch. It sits 13th on my personal list of MCU movies.