“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” hits theaters this weekend, and with it comes the type of anticipation and box office expectations that Hollywood has not seen in months. The Marvel film not only has to follow 2018’s “Black Panther,” one of the biggest blockbusters ever, but has the challenge of doing so without star Chadwick Boseman, who passed away in 2020. If all of that wasn’t enough, it arrives as theaters, and Disney, the company releasing the movie, really need a hit.
There are myriad reasons why ticket sales are tracking behind pre-pandemic levels, but one major factor is that widely distributed film releases are down 38% compared to the same time in 2019. “Coming out of this slow period with a massive blockbuster like ‘Wakanda’ is welcome news for theater owners, especially as there aren’t any more apparent gaps on the release calendar in the near future,” Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at Boxoffice.com, told CNN Business.