Marvel seems to be keeping the pressure on DC, as critics predict that the latest upcoming movie from the former, "Black Panther," has a high chance of defeating the recently-released "Justice League" at the box office.
Website Box Office Pro has suggested that "Black Panther" might be able to pull off a strong February release, which will likely net the studio $100 million in the opening weekend alone. As some would recall, all other previous Marvel films reached first place in the most watched movies list in their respective opening weeks, and Director Ryan Coogler's film is expected to follow suit.
More than that, "Black Panther" is set to arrive in theatres on Feb. 9, 2018, the same week as President's Day Weekend, which will definitely allow more families to come to the theatres for a bit of rest and relaxation. This means that the $100-million opening weekend projection could even be higher than anticipated. This, coupled with the fact that the superhero movie has no competition during the month, will give it an easy success.
By comparison, "Justice League's" opening weekend clocked in at $93 million and actually lost to Marvel's "Thor: Ragnarok." This was quite an alarming predicament for DC since the latter is just a B-character movie, while "Justice League" is an AAA culmination of superheroes, which puts it in direct contest to "Avengers."
Meanwhile, "Black Panther's" domestic total might as well reach $275 million, perhaps even more, according to critics. Still, predictions can always go wrong, and for the record, "Black Panther" is Coogler's first big-budget film. He has been known prominently for his work on "Creed" and "Fruitvale Station."
This is also the first time a black superhero from Marvel is getting a spotlight, in his own film and feature nonetheless. As such, Box Office Pro predicts that the cultural and political weather will favor the upcoming film, similar to how "Wonder Woman" was hugely accepted and praised for setting a milestone. That said, whether or not predictions of its success are true still remain to be seen once "Black Panther" gets released on Feb. 9, 2018 in theaters worldwide.
