Cineplex has hit a new high for November, exceeding pre-pandemic box office levels with the release of Marvel Studios’ Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

Ellis Jacob, president and CEO of Cineplex, announced on Monday (Nov. 14) that the opening weekend of the sequel film (pictured) to Black Panther broke the exhibitor’s box office record for November. The weekend also saw a 43% increase in attendance compared to the same weekend in November 2019.

Cineplex locations across Canada saw over 835,000 moviegoers watch the film from Nov. 10 to 13, according to a news release. Nearly three-quarters of the film’s box office revenue during the period came from Cineplex’s premium offerings, including UltraAVX, VIP Cinemas, IMAX, D-BOX, 4DX, ScreenX and Real D 3D, according to a news release.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever opened on Nov. 11 and grossed an estimated US$180 million domestically during its opening weekend, according to Comscore, and US$330,000 worldwide. The No. 1 film for the same weekend in 2019 was Ford v Ferrari, which grossed more than US$31 million domestically over the three-day period.

The film marked the entertainment and media company’s highest-grossing November weekend of all time, and the second-highest in 2022 after the opening weekend of Marvel Studios’ Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness in May.

Jacob said in a statement that the record-setting weekend performance of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever “demonstrates that consumer enthusiasm for theatrical moviegoing in Canada and around the world is as strong as ever.”

Cineplex predicted a strong performance for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in its Q3 2022 financial results last week, reporting a total revenue of $339.8 million for the quarter.

The Canadian theatre chain partnered with TikTok at the beginning of November to release two-minute Canadian and international TikTok content during its pre-show.

Image courtesy of Cineplex