Marvel Studios has once again bailed out the box office with “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” which earned an excellent $181 million domestic and $331.3 million global in its first weekend and is set to be a big theatrical hit. But whether this blockbuster can hit $1 billion worldwide isn’t as clear as it used to be.
The first “Black Panther” earned $1.34 billion globally, a shock for analysts at the time, thanks in large part to American audiences repeatedly seeing the film to the tune of $700 million domestically. Serving as the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s lead-in film to the wildly anticipated “Avengers: Infinity War” also helped boost ticket sales.