‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Crosses $400 Million at Domestic Box Office as ‘Avatar 2’ Looms

With no new wide releases and the Top 5 unchanged, Marvel Studios’ “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” will take one more No. 1 weekend in its fifth frame, adding around $11 million to bring its domestic total to $409 million and its global total to $767.8 million.

The box office sank to near-record lows for the year this weekend as theaters are counting down the days until “Avatar: The Way of Water” gets things going again with an expected $150 million-plus opening starting this Friday.

Overall totals this weekend sank to a dismal $38 million, the second lowest total seen this year and just barely above the $35 million recorded on the weekend of January 28, a weekend with no new wide releases and that had the seventh weekend of “Spider-Man: No Way Home” topping the charts.

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In the coming days, the “Avatar” sequel will pass the $411 million domestic total of “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” to become the second highest grossing release of 2022 in North America behind “Top Gun: Maverick,” which leads the way with $718.5 million.

Universal’s Christmas-themed action comedy “Violent Night” is in the No. 2 spot in its second weekend with $8.7 million in its second weekend, bringing its total to $26.6 million. With a $20 million production budget before marketing costs, the film starring David Harbour as a surly Santa is drawing closer to turning a theatrical profit.

A pair of Thanksgiving box office busts are in the remainder of the Top 5 with Disney’s “Strange World” making just $3.6 million in its third weekend, bringing the $120 million-plus budgeted animated film to a meager total of $30.5 million domestic and $53.5 million worldwide. The Disney film is being bested by Searchlight’s horror film “The Menu,” which added $2.6 million this weekend to bring its total to $29 million domestic and $57.7 million worldwide.

Sony’s Korean War flop “Devotion” completes the Top 5 with $2 million in its third weekend, bringing the $90 million budgeted war film to a domestic total of just $17 million.