Did Black Panther 2 make any profits? New numbers reveal whether it underperformed

Black Panther 2 proved to be a strong sequel to the original. Although Marvel Studios and the crew working on the sequel were stunned with the tragic demise of Chadwick Boseman, Ryan Coogler and co managed to pull off a great movie as a tribute to the late actor.

As such, with an 84% Fresh Rotten Tomatoes score, the film proved to be a critical success. However, after the massive success of the first one, Black Panther 2 did not turn out to be another 'Billion Dollar' success as it ended its run with $859 million worldwide. But was this a profitable number for Disney or did Wakanda Forever underperform massively?

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Black Panther 2 budget and profitability revealed

Black Panther Wakanda Forever poster (Image via Marvel)

According to a breakdown from Deadline, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever turned in a total profit of $259 million. Out of its worldwide total of $859 million, it grossed $454 million domestically and $389 million internationally.

However, that’s not the entire revenue, as a huge chunk of it went to the theater chains of domestic and international markets. Ultimately, the money that Disney took home from the worldwide theaters is $450 million

To add to this, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever also made another $170 million from TV/streaming and added $155 million in home entertainment revenue, bringing its total earnings to $750 million. This does seem like a winning total, but how does it compare to the costs?

Namor and Shuri in Black Panther Wakanda Forever (Image via Marvel)

Black Panther 2 had a production budget of $200 million (not $250 million as originally reported). Other costs include print and advertising, which amount to $140 million, video costs amounting to $55 million, residuals of $30 million, interest and overhead costs of $36 million, and participations of $30 million. Therefore, the total expenditure on Black Panther 2 came up to $491 million.

Subtracting $491 million from $759 million, Disney got a profit of $259 million. So is Black Panther 2 a success? Definitely! However, did it underperform? Once again, the answer is yes!

The original Black Panther made $1.382 billion, while the sequel brought in more than $500 million less. Its profit is also $217.2 million less than Black Panther’s $476.8 million. Hence, the sequel was a good entry, but it wasn’t MCU’s greatest.

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Why Black Panther 2 did not make to the 'Billion Dollar Club'

Black Panther 2 vs. Avatar 2 (Image via Disney)

With a $181 million domestic opening, it did seem that Black Panther: Wakanda Forever would enter the Billion Dollar Club. However, it didn’t because of multiple internal and external reasons. One of those has to be superhero fatigue. Despite the high quality of the film, many MCU and general superhero fans have lost interest in the genre due to a plethora of superhero projects coming out since late 2021.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever also faced in-house competition from Avatar: The Way of Water, which took over theaters from December 16, 2022, onwards. Another reason for the underperformance was the “Post Pandemic streaming syndrome,” as people have begun to wait for the films to release on streamers to watch them at no extra cost.

Black Panther Wakanda Forever didn't release in China (Image via Marvel)

Aside from that, Black Panther 2 received a Chinese release on February 7, 2023, almost three months after its domestic release. By that time, piracy had taken over as the film only made $15 million in the Chinese market, compared to the original movie that had gone past $105 million in 2018.

Finally, Black Panther 2 missed a huge character like T’Challa and the star power of Chadwick Boseman. The transition of Shuri into Black Panther was great, but the film needed a big-name Hollywood actor to pull in the masses. However, given the situation that Ryan Coogler was put in, Disney must be content with the profit that Wakanda Forever made by leaping over all kinds of obstacles.