Cinemagoers flock to see Ryan Coogler’s film on opening day

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Marvel superhero film Black Panther has enjoyed the biggest opening day of 2018 so far at the UK and Irish box office.

Ryan Coogler’s hotly anticipated film, which features an almost entirely black cast, pulled in £2.67m on its opening day on 13 February, Disney said, delivering the highest-grossing single day at the UK box office this year.

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This bests the opening days of fellow Marvel Studios offerings Thor: Ragnarok and Doctor Strange, starring Benedict Cumberbatch.



The superhero film, which Coogler co-wrote with Joe Robert Cole, had already outsold Captain America: Civil War to become Marvel’s most-preordered film in its first 24 hours after release.

In Black Panther, T’Challa, played by Chadwick Boseman, returns home as king to a fictional African nation known as Wakanda, but finds his rule challenged by a long-time adversary in a conflict that has global consequences.

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The film, which was shot in Atlanta, US and Busan, South Korea, features established actors such as Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, Lupita Nyong’o and rising stars Danai Gurira, Letitia Wright and Oscar nominee Daniel Kaluuya.

Rapper Kendrick Lamar produced and curated the soundtrack to the Marvel movie.

The film has received a rapturous reception from both critics and cinemagoers, enjoying a 98% fresh rating on reviews website Rotten Tomatoes, despite a pushback campaign to bring the rating down.

