Black Panther: Wakanda Forever performed well at the box office during a quiet Thanksgiving weekend, besting Disney's Strange World as the animated film fails to find its footing. It's no surprise that, as the highly-anticipated sequel to 2018's Black Panther and the final film in Phase 4 of the MCU, Wakanda Forever has scored high at the box office since its debut earlier this month. The film has also received heaps of critical praise for its gripping and emotional storyline, especially because of how it pays tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman, who portrayed T'Challa in earlier MCU films. Meanwhile, Strange World has garnered middling reviews from critics but has received acknowledgment for having an openly gay character in a leading role.

Despite a rather low-performing Thanksgiving weekend overall, Variety reports that Black Panther: Wakanda Forever topped the box office, while Disney's Strange World finds trouble staying afloat. The 30th MCU film scored $8.1 million on Thanksgiving day, as well as $18.2 million on Friday. Disney's new animated film, however, only garnered $5.2 million, bringing its total box office performance on opening weekend to $11.9 million, a far cry from the $40 million projected earnings for the film.

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While Stranger World's underperformance is a disappointment given the film's new step for representation in Disney movies, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever's unmatched popularity may have overshadowed Strange World's holiday weekend release. The Black Panther sequel has been a high performer for Marvel at the box office, ending Phase Four with a movie that honors its own legacy and builds atop it to create something fresh and new. Wakanda Forever also pushed Disney past $3 billion in global box office earnings in 2022, a testament to the franchise's popularity.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has performed well at the box office not only because it honors Boseman's life, but also due to its position as the last film in Phase Four of the MCU. Despite some middling box office performers like Black Widow and Eternals during Phase 4, the MCU has continued to prove its popularity through the success of films like Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. As the final film in Phase 4, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever provided an emotional and compelling end to the first third of the Multiverse Saga while setting up events and characters for the rest of the MCU.

The introduction of characters like Namor and Ironheart also helped to bolster its performance at the box office, especially with both playing pivotal roles in the film. The introduction of Namor as the antagonist of the movie underscores his role as an anti-hero in Marvel's comics, while Ironheart offers a look at the next generation of Avengers who will be drawing inspiration from Iron Man and other heroes from the Infinity Saga. While it may be disappointing that Strange World underperformed at the box office, it may have been an inevitability when going up against a massively-anticipated and jam-packed film like Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.