‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ expected to revive box office, unlikely to release in China

Yahoo Finance entertainment reporter Allie Canal details how well the "Black Panther" sequel is expected to perform in its opening weekend.

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RACHELLE AKUFFO: "Black Panther-- Wakanda Forever" is officially out in theaters worldwide. Now, it's expected to have a massive opening weekend at the box office. And I have already contributed to it. I have already seen it. No spoilers, though. Yahoo Finance's Allie Canal joins us with the details. Hey, Allie.

ALEXANDRA CANAL: Hey, Rachelle. I'm so proud of you. You got out there early. I want to ask your opinions about the movie in a second. But yes, you were one of the lucky few who contributed to that Thursday night preview haul. And so far, so good. It's looking nice heading into this opening weekend. Thursday night previews coming in at $28 million for "Black Panther." And if we compare that to the original movie in 2018, Thursday previews came in at $25 million. So the sequel just edging out its predecessor there.

Overall, the film is expected to gross between $170 million and $205 million domestically. That's according to estimates from Box Office Pro. We saw a pretty solid start overseas, just over $10 million from 17 foreign markets. But that does include China and Russia. Now, there's little hope that this movie will get the green light to debut in China. That country has been super strict when it comes to censorship, which films it ultimately allows into the country.

But amid its zero COVID policy, in addition to just how well "Top Gun-- Maverick" performed without a China release, Hollywood's dependence on the country doesn't seem as crucial as it once was. Now, that being said, it's still a very important market. And no matter which way you slice it, it still cost studios tens of millions of dollars, especially for these big budget superhero action films that tend to do really well in the country.

If you take a look at the OG "Black Panther" film, that earned $105 million in just the China markets alone. So it's definitely not nothing. But we've seen Disney, along with some of the other studios, really take a stand against censorship in international territories. And that's led to a lot of praise from the industry. So we'll see if that tends to continue.

Overall, a lot is riding on the success of this film. We just talked to IMAX CEO yesterday. He said he'd be very surprised if the film does not do well, given the overall audience appeal, the strong reviews, that social media buzz. And, Rachelle, I'm going to kick it back to you on your thoughts. I know you're a huge fan, and you were very excited for the sequel. Did it live up to the hype?

RACHELLE AKUFFO: You know what? I think it really did. It's an emotional movie. And I think "Black Panther," I feel like the whole franchise does a really good job of blurring the lines between heroes and villains. Once you actually see it, you'll know. And one thing, because I didn't think I'd be going back to the movies anytime soon, can we talk about this commemorative popcorn tin?

DAVE BRIGGS: Wow.

RACHELLE AKUFFO: This is a thing of beauty.

ALEXANDRA CANAL: That's gorgeous.

RACHELLE AKUFFO: Lights up, everything. Right?

DAVE BRIGGS: How much was that?

RACHELLE AKUFFO: I absolutely love it. So this was $24.99, including the popcorn. But I will say is, to get a piece of something that a movie that I really, really love, I'm not mad at it. The film was beautiful. Don't miss the post-credits scene. Please don't get up before the credits have finished because it's a doozy of a post-credit scene. I'm just saying.

DAVE BRIGGS: $25--

ALEXANDRA CANAL: Marvel--

DAVE BRIGGS: --popcorn. This is the weirdest recession I have ever seen, Allie.

RACHELLE AKUFFO: It's a keepsake.

ALEXANDRA CANAL: Yeah, I mean-- it's something fun. It's something fun for the diehard fans. And, Rachelle, you're right, Marvel always has little Easter eggs in the post-credits scene. So I agree. If you're going to see this movie, definitely stick around a little longer. Eat some more popcorn.

DAVE BRIGGS: Can't wait. Allie, thank you. Great to see you. Have a good weekend.