Black Panther, Disney/Marvel’s superhero spectacle, already is bringing in big bucks for North Texas theaters and could be on its way to an…
Black Panther, Disney/Marvel’s superhero spectacle, already is bringing in big bucks for North Texas theaters and could be on its way to an « historic » four-day sales tally.
« Thrilled to say we sold more than $1 million of tickets prior to the first showtime, » said Lynne McQuaker, a spokeswoman for Dallas-based Studio Movie Grill, quoting figures from the chain’s senior director of programming.
« On Thursday night [opening night] we sold out 90 percent of our shows nationwide. »
At midday Friday, more than half of the weekend shows already were sold out, she said.
« Needless to say we planned to increase staffing accordingly, » she added.
AMC is the industry leader and has a large presence in North Texas.
A spokesman for that chain declined to discuss any staffing or security plans but said « the excitement, enthusiasm, and now the initial response from moviegoers for Black Panther has been amazing.
« We are approaching it as we would any blockbuster title that’s doing huge attendance on opening weekend, » said spokesman Ryan Noonan.
Across the nation, ticket sales are getting a huge bump from campaigns like the #BlackPantherChallenge, which one philanthropist described as the « largest GoFundMe [campaign] in history for an entertainment event. »
The effort, designed to raise money to allow groups of young people to see the movie, raised $400,000 « around the world, enough to send over 30k children to see the film, » according to a Twitter post from philanthropist Fred T. Joseph.
« We have hundreds of special events and groups coming in, » said McQuaker of Studio Movie Grill. « This is a groundbreaking movie in so many ways. Along with astounding pre-sales for Black Panther, [Studio Movie Grill] is very proud to be hosting an amazing number Black Panther events including many for non-profits, schools and as community outreach. »
The site deadline.com estimates the film could bring in more than $200 million over the first four days.
Twitter: @krobijake
