Day by day, we’re slowly beginning to realize that there’s never been a comic book movie quite like Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther.
Imbued with all the majesty and regalness one would expect from a T’Challa solo film, Black Panther has already wowed critics with its incredible world-building and nuanced villain – expect the full, long-form reviews to be online by Tuesday, February 6th – so it’s small wonder why the Coogler-directed spinoff was deemed to be the most-anticipated superhero flick of 2018. After Avengers: Infinity War, of course.
But it would seem that not everyone is looking forward to the movie. As Marvelous Realm discovered, there’s a small (well, at 2,000 members, maybe it’s not so small) group on Facebook who are planning to sabotage Black Panther. We wish we were kidding, but we’re not. Down in the gallery below you’ll see their plan, but the gist of it is that they hope to “strike back” by making sure the studio’s latest effort ends up with a poor audience score on Rotten Tomatoes while also “spreading spoilers” to Marvel fans.
Even though this group only represents a very, very small portion of the fanbase, it’s still crazy to think that some people are so enraged over the whole Marvel vs. DC debate that they’re going out of their way to damage a film from a competing studio. I mean, it’s one thing to take sides, but to sabotage a movie and also try to ruin it for others is just plain wrong – and absolutely ridiculous.
But at least Marvel fans can rest easy knowing that this group won’t be able to hurt the pic at the box office. Make no mistake about it, after years of pent-up demand for T’Challa, moviegoers will be flocking to see his standalone pic in their droves, and early forecasts have predicted a strong opening for Black Panther in North America.
Buoyed by a timely four-day President’s Day weekend, the star-studded actioner is said to be eyeing a domestic debut in the ballpark of $120 million, though we fully expect that number to climb higher still once analysts get a better reading on the critical reception.