WAKANDA WAKES UP
THE BOX OFFICE

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever ruled the global box office this weekend, pulling in a spectacular $331m. The U.S., which alone accounted for $181m, has started to drive sales of the soundtrack.

The Marvel film set a new record for a sequel opening in November in North America, crushing the $158m mark achieved by The Hunger Games: Catching Fire in 2013.

At iTunes, Rihanna’s “Lift Me Up” rose to #3 over the weekend, while Roc Nation/Def Jam/Hollywood’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever–Music From and Inspired By is Top 5. Her second Wakanda song, “Born Again,” has cracked the Top 20. The album is Top 15 at Apple Music; “Lift Me Up” is in the Top 40 at Spotify’s Global Top Songs.

The film's opening was less than $7m shy of the year’s biggest premiere weekend, which was the $187.4m pulled in by Marvel’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness in May.

Worldwide, the $331m weekend is the third-biggest start for any Hollywood title of the pandemic era. No surprise here—all three are Marvel titles. Wakanda Forever is only 5% behind the original Black Panther, which benefited from the Presidents Day holiday.