By George Lewis

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has hit a major box office milestone, with the sequel’s takings going past the $500 million mark.

The MCU film set a record with its opening weekend, with the $180 million gross being the highest of any film to be released in November in the US.

Despite a 49% drop in its second week in the US, the film is now over halfway to the billion-dollar mark, with its total worldwide gross measuring at $546.3 million (via Deadline).

Despite the decrease in sales, the superhero film is performing better than other recent MCU entries, with Thor: Love and Thunder, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (both -56%) and Spider-Man: No Way Home (-60%) faring worse in this regard.

In the UK, the film has grossed just under £23 million so far, with its second week drop (48%) being marginally less than the US.

The film, which is the first in the franchise since the tragic death of Chadwick Boseman, has received positive reviews, with many critics noting its touching tribute to the late actor.

Letitia Wright, who plays T’Challa’s sister Shuri, recently said she wanted to honour the legacy of Boseman after receiving the call from director Ryan Coogler.

“When Ryan gave me that call, it was tough,” she said. “He slowly, gently explained to me his intention of how we can honour Chad in this film and how we can honour what was created by us as a family. You’ve got to keep inspiring people; you have to move forward.

“I had to process that and pray and ask him if it’s okay for me to do it. Once I felt at peace, I accepted. I said to Ryan: ‘I’ll do my best’. I made a commitment… It was just a process of going through this and I’m praying that we make him proud,” she concluded.