Black Panther movie viewership in the U.S. 2018, by ethnicity

In the film’s opening weekend, African Americans accounted for around 37 percent of all ticket buyers for Marvel’s ‘Black Panther’. Although the film was eagerly anticipated by all audiences, African American movie fans were particularly interested in the film beforehand due to its casting decisions and its commentary on social justice. Only 13 percent of African-Americans stated that they never planned to watch the film.

What is ‘Black Panther’?

‘Black Panther’ is a superhero film which takes place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and follows main character T’Challa whilst addressing themes such as institutional bias and oppression. African American consumers were especially keen to see the movie as a result of the amount of black cast members, with 46 percent citing this as a reason for watching the movie. The actors and actresses excelled in their respective roles and the film came away with seven Academy Award nominations, marking the first time that a superhero movie was nominated for Best Picture.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) mentioned above encompasses ‘Black Panther’ as well as the four ‘Avengers’ films, around 20 other individual superhero films, multiple television series, short films and comic books. MCU is the highest grossing film franchise of all time, with its box office revenues dwarfing those of other top franchises like Star Wars, Harry Potter and James Bond. Box office revenue for a single Marvel film frequently approaches or surpasses the billion dollar mark, and numerous further potentially lucrative films and projects are already in the works.