After his debut in Captain America: Civil War, Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) made an impression on a lot of fans. That will likely only continue with the upcoming release of the Black Panther solo movie, and with less than six weeks until the film finally debuts in theaters, it seems like Marvel insiders are now getting very antsy for its release. In fact, Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson took to social media and admitted he thinks the film could beat his own movie's record and become the highest-grossing Marvel origin film. He said:
It is good to be king, but it seems that Black Panther is the movie that Scott Derrickson would not mind losing to in the grand scheme of things. Like many Marvel fans, he is incredibly excited for Black Panther, and he appears to believe that the T'Challa origin movie could beat Doctor Strange's $677 million worldwide box office gross. Now we just have to sit back and wait to see if he is right in his assessment.
If Black Panther lives up to Scott Derrickson's tweet and turns out to be a huge win for Marvel at the box office, and if it beats Doctor Strange's run, then it will have another origin movie to face off against: Wonder Woman. The female-driven DCEU solo movie earned the top spot for comic book origin movies over the summer, making $828.1 million worldwide, and Diana Prince may stands as the final boss in T'Challa's path to box office glory.
Building off of that, there's an argument to be made that Black Panther's financial success could mean far more than just a lofty paycheck for everyone involved over at Marvel Studios. Success has a tendency to generate trends in Hollywood, and while Black Panther has already been hailed by many as a landmark moment for Marvel movies because it's the first-ever solo movie fronted by a black hero, a strong box office performance could lead to more films of a similar ilk.
Of course, one thing that we have to mention about Scott Derrickson's tweet is the fact that he does not (at least overtly) seem to think that Black Panther will have the legs to become the highest-grossing Marvel Cinematic Universe movie of all time. That honor still belongs to The Avengers, with Iron Man 3 standing as the highest-grossing solo film in the Marvel canon. Now, with Black Panther less than two months away, all eyes are on the Wakanda-based origin film to make some serious money, as well.
T'Challa will take center stage in the Marvel Cinematic Universe when Black Panther premieres in theaters on February 16. From there, the black-clad hero will join up with the rest of the Marvel heroes during the events of Avengers: Infinity War on May 4. Here's everything that we here at CinemaBlend currently know about Black Panther, and be sure to check out what we have on Avengers: Infinity War as well.
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