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*Variety spotlights the grassroots marketing campaign that has wrapped its arms around the upcoming Marvel film “Black Panther” unlike anything the industry has ever seen.
The article explores the “hundreds of grassroots events across the country being organized by black filmgoers to celebrate the Feb. 16 opening of the historic film and give kids a chance to see it in theaters.”
Passion for the film has spurred widespread fundraising efforts. Frederick Joseph, a marketing consultant from New York City, recently created the #BlackPantherChallenge with the aim of raising $10,000 through a GoFundMe page to benefit the Boys and Girls Club of Harlem. Within days, he had surpassed the goal, raising more than $40,000. The hashtag took off on social media.
Now there are over 200 campaigns, including in cities like Toronto, London and Ghana, he said. The campaign has attracted the attention of celebrities like Octavia Spencer and Viola Davis. Spencer wrote on Instagram that she would rent out a theater in Mississippi so underprivileged children could see the movie on the big screen. Davis lent her voice to a fundraiser in Austin, which just recently raised the entire $4,000 to send 200 kids to see the movie.
The story of Black Panther and the fictional nation of Wakanda depicts an African community that has resisted colonization and remains self-sufficient, empowered and strong, said Dominique Jones, executive director of the Harlem Boys and Girls Club. Because of Frederick Joseph’s fundraising, they’ll be able to take about 400 kids to see the film in New York.
“Being engaged with positive media is important,” she said. “For them to not only be entertained, but the messages and themes reinforce what we’re doing here at the club.”
The unprecedented nature of “Black Panther’s” cast and subject matter is poised to translate into massive box office results, Variety notes. Early tracking suggests that the film could open to as much as $150 million when it debuts on Feb. 16, the start of the four-day President’s Weekend holiday.