Wakanda for free. Marvel’s “Black Panther,” which was 2018’s top-grossing domestic film after clawing $700 million in North America, will ...
Marvel’s “Black Panther,” which was 2018’s top-grossing domestic film after clawing $700 million in North America, will return to theaters to celebrate Black History month this week — and fans won’t have to pay a cent to catch the blockbuster on the big screen.
Disney revealed late Monday afternoon that the hit that made headlines for being the first mainstream superhero movie fronted by an almost entirely black cast will screen at 250 select AMC theaters from Feb. 1-7, and that the company will also give a $1.5 million grant to the United Negro College Fund for scholarships to help minority students continue their education.
There will be two free “Black Panther” showings per day at each theater (including six venues in New York, and 25 in California) and you can find tickets for your nearest theater here. If you don’t score a pass initially, there will be a waiting list that guests can sign up for in case cancellations open up seats. (You can also currently stream “Black Panther” as part of your Netflix subscription, or for starting at $2.99 on streaming services such as Amazon Prime, Google Play, YouTube and Vudu.)
“‘Black Panther’ is groundbreaking for many reasons, including the rich diversity of voices behind its success,” Disney CEO Bob Iger wrote in a statement shared with media outlets including Deadline and Entertainment Weekly. “The story also showcases the power of knowledge to change the world for the better, and the importance of ensuring everyone has access to it. We’re proud to provide thousands of free screenings of ‘Black Panther’ in hopes it will continue to inspire audiences, and to support UNCF with a $1.5 million grant to make the dream of higher education a reality for more students.”
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“Almost a year ago, movie-lovers were transported to Wakanda, and the guest response to ‘Black Panther’ was unlike anything our industry has seen before,” Adam Aron, CEO and president of AMC, told Variety. “AMC is excited this best-picture nominated film is once again accessible on the big screen at AMC. We are also pleased to play a constructive role in Disney’s generous support of Black History Month.”
The announcement came the day after “Black Panther” won the SAG’s top award (Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture), and a week after it earned seven Oscar nominations — and made history as the first superhero movie to contend for the coveted Best Picture title at the Academy Awards.
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“Black Panther’s” success transcended its epic $1.3 billion global box office haul, as social media was flooded by photos of friends and family dressed in “Black Panther” cosplay, or crossing their arms in the Wakanda warrior stance under the hashtag #WhatBlackPantherMeansToMe.
“Superheroes are role models that people look up to, from children to adults, and not having had representations of superheroes of color means that you’re constantly feeling like you’re in the margin,” Nancy Wang Yuen, author of “Reel Inequality: Hollywood Actors and Racism,” previously told Moneyish. “Now for the first time, kids and people in the black community can say, ‘This is us. We are the heroes.’ And there are also multiple heroes [played by Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira and Letitia Wright) you can choose from.”
And as Boseman said during his SAG Award acceptance speech on behalf of the cast on Sunday night: “To be young, gifted and black … We all know what it’s like to be told there’s not a screen for you to be featured on, there’s not a stage for you to be featured on …. And that is what we went to work with every day, because we knew, not that we would be around during awards season and that it would make a billion dollars, but we knew we had something special that we wanted to give the world.”
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https://www.marketwatch.com/story/heres-how-to-catch-black-panther-for-free-in-theaters-this-week-2019-01-29
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