NPR: Ghanaian Fans Have One Nit To Pick But Otherwise Adore 'Black Panther'
A scene from Black Panther. The titular hero, played by Chadwick Boseman, is on the right.Matt Kennedy/Marvel Studios/Getty Images
There was no red carpet, but there were drums, dancing, and general mayhem.
The premiere of Black Panther on Thursday night was definitely the wildest event in the history of the movie theater at the central mall in Accra, Ghana, says Joshua Nyamekye, who works as a ticket collector there. Before the night was over, fans trying to crowd into the theater left Nyamekye, 23, looking like he'd been roughed up by the titular clawed hero himself.
But Nyamekye doesn't resent his wounds; he was just as enthusiastic to see the movie himself.
"Marvel [Studios] movies are always crazy like this," he says. But this time, "we almost needed to call the police."
The movie, which builds off the popular "Avengers" superhero franchise, stars Chadwick Boseman as the butt-kicking King T'Challa of Wakanda, a mythical African nation that faces internal strife over whether to share its super-advanced technology with the outside world. Needless to say, the nearly all-black cast and African setting are a significant departure from typical Hollywood action-flick fare, and it has had a rapturous reception across the continent, starting with its global premiere in Kisumu, Kenya, co-star Lupita Nyong'o's hometown.
On the film's second night in Accra, the drums had died down, but the house was still packed, including a large contingent of self-avowed comic book nerds who say the movie held a special resonance for African audiences.
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