Black Panther Hogs the Hollywood Limelight

Marvel Studios have gained some notoriety through the years thanks to their ever-impressive slew of productions. The way their movies wonderfully intertwine with their thematic comic book plots has been a thing of wonder. Even more impressive is the fact that all movies seem to have a sub-plot that connects them all together in one universe. To seamlessly pull that off is no mean feat in itself.

However, the thing that has truly set Marvel Studios apart from the rest of the pack has been the wide acclaim of their recent release, Black Panther. Incredibly, the film has somehow managed to become every moviegoer’s favorite. The numbers most certainly don’t lie. At present, Black Panther has raked in an unbelievable $1.2B in the worldwide box office. While at it, it has managed to stay atop the box office charts for a record-equaling 5 weeks.

History

To truly appreciate these statistics, it would be prudent to look back at the last time such figures were pulled. The last time a blockbuster was so dominant goes all the way back to Avatar in 2009-10, which lead for an equal length of 5 weeks in a row. In 30 years, only 10 other movies have managed to upstage other films in the same manner.

Most incredibly, Black Panther has proceeded to achieve worldwide acclaim as the go-to movie at the behest of other fellow blockbuster contemporaries. At present, the movie has performed so well that it’s safe to say it has hogged the limelight.

Interestingly, at one point, Black Panther was married to X-men’s Storm

Why is this information pertinent? Well, through history, the major movies that have shaken up the industry did so against a backdrop of smaller movies from small production houses. With Black Panther release around the same time as other would be ‘big event’ movies, one would naturally expect that they would share the spoils.

However, Black Panther seems to have upstaged them all at their own game in a rather spectacular fashion. Thus, the notion that movie releases around specific periods eat into each other has been dispelled.

The Interest

We would be amiss to only talk about the great success of Black Panther without mentioning the probable factors contributing to its success.

Blade Trinity Star Wesley Snipes was once poised to play the role of Black Panther

The movie takes cues from the Stan Lee and Jack Kirby 1960s Black Panther tale. The movie is set in a fictional African state called Wakanda. The land is abundant with a rare alien element from a fallen meteorite called vibranium.  This element is responsible for the massive technological advancement of the Wakanda kingdom.

Due to its wealth, Wakanda successfully lives in isolation from the rest of civilization. This is also aided greatly due to the perception by most of the backward third world poverty. The movie’s story revolves around this story, is Wakanda better off alone or does it need to mingle with the rest of the world civilization?

By creating a fictional utopian state free from the effects of colonization and slavery, the Movie inspires radical thinking. That coupled with fantastic special effects, a great cast, wonderful cinematography and great direction of the plot, made for a wonderfully stirred brew of a new age Hollywood blockbuster.

Villains

Most of Hollywood’s greatest superhero movies have long been riddled with the mounting challenge of creating believable and worthy villains. While contemporaries like DC Comics have fallen short off the mark several times, Marvel Studios have grappled with the same issue too.

Wakanda’s revolutionary technology was inspired by the Director Coogler after attending a couple of technology conferences

That is until Black Panther came knocking. The Killmonger villain character is graced to amazing effect by Michael B. Jordan right from the offset. During the early stages of the film, the Killmonger character rocks a memorable haircut. During the film progression, the villain character gets painted with all shades of emotion and viewers are treated to an amazing specter of emotion. In a way, viewers are able to relate to the villain on a human level. When he goes head-on with his nemesis, the movies grieving hero T’Challa played by Chadwick Boseman, the scenes seem almost unpredictable.

Therein, lies the greatness of Black Panther. For its commercial nuances, the movie finds a way to resonate with audiences worldwide. In doing so, it also puts to bed another notion that superhero movies are reserved for a specific niche of people. Earlier on, Wonder Woman helped dispel this myth. With Black Panther, the point got driven home. The rest of Hollywood is now playing catch-up to the changing dynamics of perception.

All through the thrills, Black Panther stands out. This is due to the great effort put in behind the scenes and in front of the big screen. The movie serves as a great reminder that the masses are always willing to part with their money. Of course, this true when quality is availed. Quality sells. It’s entrepreneurship 101.