Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’s domestic total has reached US$393.7 million on top of US$339 million in international ticket sales. © Marvel
LOS ANGELES: “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” saw weekend ticket sales drop to an estimated US$17.6 million but still extended its rule of the North American box office for a fourth week, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations said Sunday.
The Disney/Marvel sequel had taken in nearly US$46 million for the previous Friday-through-Sunday period. Still, its domestic total has now reached an impressive US$393.7 million on top of US$339 million in international ticket sales.
Universal’s new holiday-timed “Violent Night” placed second for the weekend at US$13.3 million, “a solid opening for an action comedy,” said David A Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research.
David Harbour of “Stranger Things” fame stars as a cranky, sledgehammer-wielding Santa who comes to the rescue when bad guys invade a rich family’s home on Christmas Eve. Gross said the film should play well until the Dec 16 release of much-anticipated “Avatar: The Way of Water.”
Disney’s computer-animated sci-fi film “Strange World” claimed third place while taking in just US$4.9 million. Given its US$180 million production budget, “the movie could lose more than US$100 million,” according to HollywoodReporter.com.
In fourth was Searchlight’s horror-comedy “The Menu,” at US$3.6 million. Ralph Fiennes plays a celebrity chef who serves up some dark surprises.
And in fifth was Sony’s “Devotion,” an action movie about two US fighter pilots during the Korean War, at US$2.8 million.
Rounding out the top 10 were:
“I Heard the Bells” (US$1.8 million)
“Black Adam” (US$1.7 million)
“The Fabelmans” (US$1.3 million)
“Bones and All” (US$1.2 million)
“Ticket to Paradise” (US$850,000)
