The highly anticipated Black Panther sequel, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, is set to release this week. However, advanced ticket sales for the upcoming film are lagging behind another big MCU film from earlier this year.
RELATED: What to Watch Before Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
A recent report from Deadline notes that, as of today, advance ticket sales through Sunday for the sequel sit at around $45 million. While that is incredibly impressive, that does trail 20% behind ticket sales for where Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was at the same time earlier this year. That film, which was released in May 2022, had $85 million in advance sales before its domestic opening and was widely considered one of the most anticipated Marvel Studios films in some time.
Other than when compared to Doctor Strange‘s sequel, however, Wakanda Forever continues to sell well. The same Deadline report notes that the film is already 40% ahead of Thor: Love and Thunder in advance ticket sales, with that film earning $48 million prior to its domestic opening.
Despite the drop behind Doctor Strange, Wakanda Forever is still set to be an absolute money maker at the box office. Early expectations for the film have it set to open at somewhere between $175-185 million, with a projected global debut of more than $350 million.
Based on the Marvel Comics by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will continue to explore the incomparable world of Wakanda and all of the rich and varied characters introduced in the first film.
It will see the return of most of its original main cast, including Lupita Nyong’o as Nakia, Danai Gurira as Okoye, Angela Bassett as Ramonda, Martin Freeman as Everett K. Ross, Letitia Wright as Shuri, Winston Duke as M’Baku, and Florence Kasumba as Ayo. Joining them are franchise newcomers Tenoch Huerta (Narcos: Mexico) as Namor, Michaela Coel (I May Destroy You) as Aneka, Mabel Cadena as Namora, and Alex Livinalli as Attuma.
RELATED: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Featurette Spolights Ryan Coogler’s Vision
Ryan Coogler is once again directing Black Panther: Wakanda Forever from a screenplay he is co-writing with Joe Robert Cole. It is being produced by Kevin Feige and Nate Moore, with Victoria Alonso, Louis D’Esposito, and Barry Waldman serving as executive producers.
