Spoilers Black Panther grade and discussion thread

Never seen them.

There's a nice unbiased mix in everything I like

 

Don't know if anyone else finds this interesting but it's easy enough.
Now has taken over DK Rises in worldwide. Should move to #4 in adjusted domestic and probably all-time worldwide before the weekend is over.

Code:

                    US Domestic
The Avengers        $623,357,910
Black Panther       $565,732,833

                    US Domestic (Adjusted for Inflation)
The Avengers        $705,769,500
Dark Knight         $683,575,000   
Spider-Man          $637,870,000
Batman              $577,923,400   
Black Panther       $565,732,833

                    Worldwide (US+Overseas)
The Avengers        $1,518,812,988
Avengers: Ultron    $1,405,403,694
Iron Man 3          $1,214,811,252
Capt. America: CW   $1,153,304,495
Black Panther       $1,093,732,833    

 

Sure.

BP could have been just another entertaining Marvel solo superhero debut movie, instead, it has become a bit of a phenomenon. IMO, the reason is because the movie is a reflection of Ryan Coogler's vision of Black Panther and his world.

Setting aside the beautiful location and CGI shots of Wakanda, the action sequences on the streets of Busan and in the casino and the challenge arena etc, Coogler's real accomplishment was turning what could have been an overblown hero-fest into what seemed like a much "smaller", more personal, movie. Putting forth his vision of the movie was made easier by the fact that Coogler also wrote the script, but as the director, he still had the authority to emphasize or deemphasize any parts of the script he chose.

The could have been a simple revenge story, or a "fight for the vibranium", story, which would have been fine. But through his villain, Coogler chose to push to the forefront of the movie, the bigger idea of the conflict between the isolationist traditions of a supremely powerful and rich black African nation and the worldwide oppression of an entire race of people. That decision gave the movie the kind of gravitas nearly all superhero movies have lacked. This allowed the movie to transcend the superhero genre and draw people who never before had any interest in the superhero genre.

It also elevated Coogler's villain character, Killmonger, to the best in any superhero movie I'v seen. I'v read comparisons between this character and Loki. To me, Killmonger makes Loki look pretty much like comic relief. Although the jealousy/revenge element is a part of Killmonger's story as it is Loki's, it's Coogler's decision to emphasize Killmonger's desire to take over the thrown of Wakanda in order to use the nation's wealth and might to "right" thousands of years of wrongs (wrongs that exist in real life), rather than just because it is "good to be King", that has turned this movie into a cultural touchstone. Coogler's Killmonger is by no means a traditional "good guy", but he does have a plausible and noble cause.

And, by pushing forward this larger element of Killmonger's story, Coogler is able to spotlight a fundamental flaw in his hero character's thinking. That flaw is seen to be fully resolved in the movie's final two scenes, one of which could serve as a small homage to both Killmonger and N'Jobu's beliefs.

I could point to other elements of this movie that I believe make it's director Oscar worthy, but these are the most significant, IMO. Now, if I see 5 other directorial efforts in the coming year that are better than Coogler's then I might change my mind. But as of today, Coogler gets my Oscar vote.

 

Well, this certainly does explain a few things to me.

 

I really wish I saw the movie you and others seem to have. It sounds fantastic.

 

Seriously. I saw a well made MCU movie. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

IDK - as far as Master and Commander is concerned, it would have been nice to see a Star Trek (TOS) style film win best picture.

 

I seriously doubt anyone would consider this Oscar nomination worthy. It was a good film, but not even the best of its genre (supeheror films) or the specific category it belongs to (MCU films), and none ever earned an Oscar nomination in the Best Picture category.

 

To each his own, bruh.

Just for the record, I'm not saying that the movie will be nominated for acting, directing, or Best Picture awards, because superhero movies face an uphill battle that regard, but what I am saying is that I believe BP is worthy of nominations in the aforementioned categories.

 

The ritual battle scenes of black panther were likely inspired by this TNG episode

 

Meanwhile, in the real world...

Black Panther has become the first film since Avatar to top the box office five weekends in a row, earning $27 million, edging out Tomb Raider by $3.5 million. I don't know if this happens often but I noticed that both this week and last week, Black Panther trailed its top competition on Friday, only to win the whole weekend.

The film is now only the seventh film to earn $600 million and is only $14 million behind The Last Jedi.

Worldwide, it is now at $1.1825 billion and ranks 14th all-time (unadjusted). I expect it'll make the top ten, but I doubt it'll reach The Avengers ($1.4045 billion) at this point now the film has been released in all of the major markets.

 

^ Impressive! Most impressive!

 

Continuing to move up against superhero movies at the all-time box office.
Now #4 in US Domestic adjusted for inflation and Worldwide totals.

Code:

                    US Domestic
The Avengers        $623,357,910
Black Panther       $605,400,528

                    US Domestic (Adjusted for Inflation)
The Avengers        $705,769,500
Dark Knight         $683,575,000
Spider-Man          $637,870,000
Black Panther       $605,400,528

                    Worldwide (US+Overseas)
The Avengers        $1,518,812,988
Avengers: Ultron    $1,405,403,694
Iron Man 3          $1,214,811,252
Black Panther       $1,182,500,528

 

That is really incredible. Yep, it may not overtake The Avengers worldwide, but it is on track to become the highest grossing superhero movie in US history.

I sure hope Coogler got a point or two on the back end.

 

Based on its pace, and The Avengers' pace at this point, I unscientifically predict Black Panther will reach that mark at the end of next weekend.

 

I hope so too. While I personally think there are better MCU movies story-wise, I do think Coogler did a hell of a job with BP.

 

One would think his contract at least includes a bonus after the 1 billion in revenue mark.

 

I don't know the business, but would provisions like that even exist, specifically for such a high dollar amount? How many movies actually see $1B? Obviously the are a few juggernaut franchises like Star Wars or Harry Potter or in the case of directors, Spielberg or Cameron, when it comes to the box office, but even for MCU films it's now 5 out of 18 movies that have hit the billion dollar mark. Even for a well established franchise like Marvel, the odds aren't in a movie's favor to earn that kind of profit especially when you consider, until BP, 3 of the 4 $1B movies were Avengers movies (Civil War being Avengers 2.5) and the 4th was IronMan 3, arguably the MCU's most popular superhero.

Now obviously there was great deal of excitement for Black Panther in the weeks and months leading up to it's release, but I doubt anyone knew it was going to perform this well.

 

I did have more fun with the second viewing.