Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has failed to match up with its predecessor’s perfect A+ CinemaScore rating but is still a huge hit with the audience.

Marvel Studios

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is a big hit with viewers. The long-awaited sequel to Marvel’s 2018 box office smash Black Panther is now in theaters. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is a slight downgrade from its predecessor in terms of the critics and audience ratings, but it is still a poignant and well-crafted MCU entry. The film is currently sitting at an 84% Fresh Rotten Tomatoes score and 95% audience score, compared to Black Panther’s 96% RT rating and 79% audience score.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’s CinemaScore grade has also been revealed, and it’s one of Marvel’s best in years. Audiences polled by CinemaScore have given Black Panther: Wakanda Forever an impressive A grade. In comparison, Black Panther received a perfect A+ back in 2018, which only three other Marvel movies have managed to accomplish: The Avengers, Avengers: Endgame, and Spider-Man: No Way Home.
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However, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is a significant improvement over Marvel’s recent offerings. Both Thor: Love and Thunder and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness polled B+ CinemaScore grades, while Eternals delivered a new low for the franchise with a B.

The only other MCU movie to get a non-A grade before Eternals was 2011’s Thor, with a B+. Even Black Widow and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings earned A- and A grades, respectively. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’s CinemaScore rivals that of other MCU favorites like Avengers: Infinity War, Thor: Ragnarok, and Captain America: Civil War.

Related: Letitia Wright Initially Refused to Believe Chadwick Boseman Had Died

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Honors The Legacy Of Chadwick Boseman

Walt Disney Studios

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is evidently a return to form for Marvel and honors the legacy of Chadwick Boseman, who tragically passed away in 2020. Marvel had a momentous task ahead of them when they decided to move forward with Black Panther 2 without Boseman as King T’Challa.

Fans expected the superhero to be recast, but instead, writer-director Ryan Coogler expanded the roles of other characters from the first film. The diverse world of Wakanda had much in store for the fans, and thus Black Panther 2 was titled Wakanda Forever.

However, Chadwick Boseman is still at the forefront of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’s story, and the film thoughtfully deals with his tragic demise and that of his character T’Challa in the movie. Many viewers were left in tears by the end of Black Panther 2, especially the mid-credits scene, which hints at a bright future for the Black Panther series and the iconic character.

But for now and in the near future, the Black Panther mantle has passed on to Shuri (Letitia Wright). Wakanda Forever also introduces Marvel’s first mutant and popular anti-hero, Namor the Submariner (played by Tenoch Huerta). Huerta is receiving acclaim for his layered performance and is expected to play a major role in the MCU going forward.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever also stars Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Winston Duke, Florence Kasumba, Dominique Thorne, Michaela Coel, Martin Freeman, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Angela Bassett. The film takes place after the death of King T’Challa and sees the nation of Wakanda band together against foreign enemies.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is currently playing in theaters worldwide.