Black Panther doesn't hit theaters until February 16, but Marvel doesn't need to worry about opening weekend. The managing editor of Fandango tweeted Wednesday morning that Black Panther has sold more advance tickets on Fandango that any other Marvel movie, beating out Captain America: Civil War, which Deadline reports earned $179 million during its summer 2016 opening.
Not even Lupita Nyong'o could get tickets for her own movie. The actress, who plays Wakandan operative Nakia, posted a video on Twitter revealing that she had tried to get herself tickets for opening night of the film, only to find that they were sold out.
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"I kid you not, 15 minutes later, I was trying to purchase tickets, and they are sold out. Sold out!" she told her fans, adding, "15 minutes? That's insane!"
@THR says @theblackpanther is @MarvelStudios best-selling movie in terms of presales after JUST 24 HOURS! Don’t I know it: I even tried!!!! #Throwback to a video I made last night. pic.twitter.com/aoJcdaqfhi
— Lupita Nyong'o (@Lupita_Nyongo) January 10, 2018
This just proves how high the demand for a Black superhero movie is, as well as superhero movies with powerful storylines for women.
"[Director and screenwriter] Ryan [Coogler] made a point of avoiding the expected female-rival narrative," Nyong'o told Teen Vogue in an interview. "In this genre, where spandex is involved, oftentimes the women are pitted against each other. In our story, there are so many different women holding their own space. Women may be in competition with each other, sure, but that doesn’t necessarily mean there’s an absence of love or respect."
Movies like Black Panther and Wonder Woman don't get made every day because there seems to be a misconception that people would rather watch the same old white guy save the world. But Wonder Woman smashed through box offices, and Black Panther is already poised to do the same. Fans crave these stories, and we can only hope WW and BP are the first in a long line of movies that will scratch that neglected itch.