Surprising Marvel Film 2023's Most-Streamed Live-Action Movie

One surprising Marvel film is 2023's most-streamed live-action movie. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever edged out Avatar: The Way of Water for the top spot on Nielsen's rankings. It's an impressive feat for the MCU sequel. (There's reason to believe that Oppenheimer and Barbie would have given the Marvel flick some competition if they had made it onto streaming faster.) Black Panther: Wakanda Forever's performance has to feel like a win for Marvel Studios. Their theatrical output came under major fire last year as audiences struggled to make it to the theater to see anything but The Super Mario Bros Movie, Barbie and Oppenheimer.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 performed admirably at the box office. But, that was the high point for the MCU movies in 2023. (Interestingly, Wakanda Forever still managed to out-gross that James Gunn fan-favorite.) However, that 6.4 billion minutes viewed does come with a drawback. Disney, Marvel's parent company, continues to encourage people to just wait out their new releases for Disney+ debuts. Instead of heading to the theater to see the new Marvel movie, families are waiting at home to catch it instead. (This is true across the board and not helped by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and worries surrounding inflation.) Deadpool 3 looks to buck that trend.

Honoring Chadwick Boseman's Career

One of the big draws for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was the idea of saying goodbye to Chadwick Boseman. The beloved actor's death was mourned by countless fans across the world. Despite that tragedy, Ryan Coogler and his cast tried their best to honor Boseman's memory. Some of the familiar faces that stepped in to help made it a point to put their best foot forward. Michael B. Jordan talked about being blessed to take part in an interview with BBC Radio 1. He says that all of that was for him and he wanted people to be able to feel that emotion radiating off the screen.

"I just feel blessed to be able to honor Chad, you know, in a real way," Jordan revealed. "That movie was for him ... and to honor him by moving forward meant the most to me." He added, "Obviously bittersweet because I would have loved to be able to work with him one more time, but I think the cast and crew and Ryan did an incredible job evolving and adapting, and making a story that honors him and pushes the franchise forward. It was something special."

Ryan Coogler Thanks The Fans

With over $800 million earned worldwide, there was a lot for everyone involved with Wakanda Forever to be thankful for. After the film won the box office, Ryan Coogler wrote a letter to the fans thanking them for going on this journey with him. In the midst of a global health emergency and mourning a friend, the director pressed forward. There were calls to drastically change the plot of this movie. Through it all, Coogler and his stars remained focused on delivering a satisfying tale. The filmmaker acknowledged that the fans were very gracious every step of the way.

"Thank you," Coogler's letter said. "Thank you to the people who bought their tickets early and camped out opening weekend. Thank you to those of you took their families out- young ones and elders in tow. To those who organized youth screenings and afterparties, who bought out theaters for communities and friends. To all of you who watched multiple times, and encouraged other folks to check it out. Our film is over two and a half hours long, so thank you for holding those bathroom breaks. Our film has 6 languages spoken in it. Thank you for bearing with the subtitles. And our film deals with the inescapable human emotion of grief." 

"Thank you for opening yourself up to the emotional journey of this film. We made something to honor our friend, who was a giant in our industry, and we also made something to be enjoyed in theatrical setting with friends, family, and strangers. Something to be quoted and discussed," he added. "To be debated. Something to make people both physically and emotionally feel seen. This medium wouldn't exist without an audience, and I thank you for giving me professional purpose, and an emotional outlet. I look forward to bringing you more stories in the future."

Are you surprised by that fact? Let us know down in the comments!