The would-be king of Wakanda has just added another accolade to his gilded trophy cabinet, as Black Panther has surpassed all other Marvel movies (yes, even Civil War) in advanced IMAX ticket sales.
Variety has the scoop, revealing that Ryan Coogler’s Afrocentric standalone pic continues to leave its competitors in the dust. Case in point: IMAX Entertainment CEO Greg Foster believes Black Panther is a movie that has “clearly captured the zeitgeist,” while also hinting that advanced ticket sales are yet to reach their peak.
Pre-sales are the surest way to see how momentum is going. The momentum is gathering steam as opposed to slowing down. A movie often peaks 10 days before it opens. This movie feels like it’s going to peak the day it opens. It’s remarkable.
And while Black Panther is eyeing a massive box office opening in North America – $165 million, last we reported – Foster went on to assert that Marvel’s latest MCU flick is very much a global blockbuster, even though he stopped short of mentioning any specific figures.
There are no borders on this. The momentum is continuing on both coasts and in the middle; in red states and in blue states. In giant cities and smaller suburbs.
The takeaway? Black Panther is poised for a huge splash on the large-screen format, which is only fitting when you consider that a select number of scenes have been specially formatted for IMAX.
Per IMAX:
Director Ryan Coogler designed several sequences of the movie to fill more of the screen at an expanded IMAX 1.9:1 aspect ratio, providing fans with 26% more of the image in IMAX than standard theatres.
Black Panther scurries into North American theaters on February 16th, and the excitement is palpable.