‘Black Panther’ Statue In South Korea Destroyed, Drunk Person Blamed

Black Panther has broken record after record and continues to slay the box office worldwide. However, one of its statues in South Korea did not escape vandals. The sculpture had been destroyed allegedly by a drunk individual.

The film organizations in South Korea have expressed dismay given the incident and vowed to bring justice to the Black Panther statue. The destruction came as a surprise to many as some of the most important scenes in the Marvel movie had been filmed in Busan, South Korea.

In time for the release of the movie last month, Walt Disney Studios, who distributed the film, commissioned two statues of Black Panther to be displayed in Busan. One of which went to Gwangbok-ro, while the other can be found in Gwangalli. The one in Gwangbok-ro has been destroyed.

It can be seen in the photos that made rounds on social media that the superhero's lower leg remains on the base while the rest of the statue had been toppled to the ground. Moreover, the claws were also damaged before the statue fell. An individual allegedly smashed the statue sometime in between the night of March 16 and the following morning. It is believed that the person who did it was intoxicated.

The Busan Film Commission is in talks with Walt Disney Studios regarding the possible legal action over the person who destroyed the statue. The authorities are optimistic that they can find the perpetrator as there are many CCTV cameras mounted in Korea. The busted statue was already returned to Disney, according to Yonhap News.

Black Panther in Busan

Clearly, South Korea is close to the hearts of Marvel Studios' executives. In 2014, the Avengers: Age of Ultron also filmed in several locations in Seoul. In making Black Panther, Busan served to be the home of the movie's cast and crew for several weeks.

They shot scenes in Busan, including the epic car chase between Black Panther/T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) and antagonist Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis). It begins at Jagalchi Market and passes through Gwangandaegyo Bridge to Haeundae District. Marvel Studios reportedly used 150 cars and more than 700 people to make that car chase scene alone. The number doesn't include the hundreds of students and graduates who had been hired for staff positions in the production.

Black Panther's Records

The Ryan Coogler-movie has made history. It had become the most tweeted movie ever, kicking the previous record holder Star Wars: The Force Awakens to the No. 2 spot.

Black Panther has been mentioned more than 35 million times, according to Twitter (via The Guardian). The most used hashtags are #BlackPanther, #Wakanda, and #WakandaForever. The most shared post came from American rapper and songwriter Kendrick Lamar, who produced Black Panther: The Album. His post was retweeted over 240,000 times. Former US First Lady Michelle Obama's tweet endorsing the film garnered over 139,000 retweets.

So far, Black Panther has already crossed the $1 billion mark in the box office worldwide. At present, it holds the record of highest-grossing film of 2018 and the biggest February opening of all time. Black Panther is still in cinemas, but its current box office record is expected to be smashed by upcoming Avengers: Infinity War. The largest assembly of Marvel superheroes will premiere on April 27, while Ant-Man and The Wasp will be in theaters on July 6.