Ryan Coogler Writes Emotional Thank You Letter to 'Black Panther' Fans

The 'Black Panther' director says he was moved to tears by the response from fans.

ryan coogler black panther getty
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Image via Getty/Shareif Ziyadat

ryan coogler black panther getty

Less than a week after hitting theaters, the response to Black Panther has been overwhelmingly positive. Pulling in an eye-popping $242 million at the Presidents' Day box office in the United States, the film has been praised for challenging "longheld false Hollywood beliefs" and received near-unanimous positive reviews from critics.

Blown away by the response, the film's director Ryan Coogler shared a personal letter to all of Black Panther's supporters on Tuesday evening. The emotional note begins by explaining, "I am struggling to find the words to express my gratitude at this moment, but I will try."

Focusing on the fact that it was a group effort, Coogler goes on to say, "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."

Coogler admits 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."

After thanking everyone who came out to see the film and those that encouraged others to join them, Coogler ends the note by writing, "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."

Coogler isn't active on social media himself, so the letter was shared by Marvel's Instagram page.

You can read the full transcript of the letter below.

I am struggling to find the words to express my gratitude at this moment, but I will try.

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