I am getting a Ghostbusters vibe off Black Panther. I’m woke enough. I don’t need a course in Remedial Wokeness from Hollywood (Paragons of Virtue, all!)
I was scarcely aware that this character existed before Captain America: Civil War. Now, apparently, he is the most important character in the Marvel Universe.
I got a bad feeling about this...
Black Panther has been in comics since the mid sixties. He's called Black Panther because he (at first) had a black panther as a sidekick.
They are spending FAR too much effort promoting it. I get the impression they are worried. If they weren't worried, they would just let it open on Friday, and let word-of-mouth carry it.
The pattern with movies that they are SURE will be hits, is to let it open on Wednesday, have the most enthused see it then, and thus promote how great it is to their friends, thus ensuring momentum for the weekend.
At my local theater, Saturday they have just 2 screenings in 3D, plus 3 screenings in regular. For anticipated blockbusters, you would expect more screenings, in a multiple-screen theater.