'Black Panther' sequel scores year's 2nd-best opening with $180M

Marvel (NYSE:DIS) is still making waves at movie theaters as Black Panther: Wakanda Forever debuted with the year's second-biggest opening, and the 13th largest opening of all time.

The film - a sequel to Disney's 2018 surprising smash hero hit Black Panther - grossed $180M domestically over the weekend, which also easily marked the best-ever November opening.

It added another $150M in international markets, where it's mostly opened where it will be opening, to log a total of $330M worldwide in its first few days.

The only film that had a better opening in 2022 was another Marvel (DIS) movie - Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness bowed to $187.4M.

More important to exhibitors is the fact that the movie pushed the overall domestic box office to $208M, the biggest weekend there in four months.

Cinema stocks are mostly higher in a mixed stock market. No. 1 chain AMC Entertainment (NYSE:AMC) is seeing volatile trade in particular, having jumped by double-digits at the market open before a halt for volatility; it's back to a 7.3% gain. Cinemark (NYSE:CNK) is +2.8%; IMAX (IMAX) +0.9%; Marcus (MCS) +0.4%; Reading International (RDI) +3.5%; National CineMedia (NCMI) +2.5%. Cineplex (CGX:CA) is up 1.2% in Toronto.

Wakanda Forever was a no-questions leader over rival DC's (NASDAQ:WBD) Black Adam, which drew $8.6M as a fourth-weekend afterthought; Black Adam's total cumulative domestic gross of $151.1M has already been surpassed by the Marvel film's first few days.

And Black Adam finished just ahead of romantic comedy Ticket to Paradise (CMCSA), with $6.1M. Rounding out the top five films were Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile (SONY), with $3.2M; and horror hit Smile (PARA) (PARAA), with $2.33M.