Black Panther has taken the movie world & pop culture by storm this past week, earning more than $240 million dollars during its record-breaking weekend. In the wake of all its success, director Ryan Coogler decided to share an emotional letter Tuesday night thanking fans for all their support.
In the letter, Coogler said that he felt “humbled” and “moved to tears” that people of all different ethnic backgrounds came to support the film, praised the all black cast, and even encouraged their friends and relatives to see the film as well.
He started the letter by saying "I am struggling to find the words to express my gratitude at this moment, but I will try.” Coogler later admitted that he was moved to tears by the response and hadn't expected the film to do so well.
"Never in a million years did we imagine that you all would come out this strong," he writes. "It still humbles me to think that people care enough to spend their money and time watching our film. But to see people of all backgrounds wearing clothing that celebrates their heritage, taking pictures next to our posters with their friends and family, and sometimes dancing in the lobbies of theaters—often moved me and my wife to tears."
Coogler doesn't have social media, so the letter was shared by Marvel's Instagram page Tuesday night. You can see the post and read the letter for yourself in its entirety (below).
“I am struggling to find the words to express my gratitude at this moment, but I will try.
Filmmaking is a team sport. And our team was made up [of] amazing people from all over the world who believed in this story. Deep down we all hoped that people would come to see a film about a fictional country on the continent of Africa, made up of a cast of people of African descent.
Never in a million years did we imagine that you all would come out this strong. It still humbles me to think that people care enough to spend their money and time watching our film- But to see people of all backgrounds wearing clothing that celebrates their heritage, taking pictures next to our posters with their friends and family, and sometimes dancing in the lobbies of theaters– often moved me and my wife to tears.
For the people who bought out theaters, who posted on social about how lit the film would be, bragged about our awesome cast, picked out outfits to wear, and who stood in line in theaters all over the world– all before seeing the film…
To the press who wrote about the film for folks who hadn’t yet seen it, and encouraged audiences to come out…
And to the young ones, who came out with their parents, with their mentors, and with their friends…
Thank you for giving our team of filmmakers the greatest gift: The opportunity to share this film, that we poured our hearts and souls into, with you.
Sincerely,
Ryan Coogler
P.S. Wakanda Forever”