LANSING, MI (WILX/CNN) - The "Black Panther" Challenge has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars across the nation to send kids to see the superhero movie for free.
Two men raised enough money to buy out an entire showing at a movie theater.
Jim Phan and Howard Johnson bonded over comics books and video games since a young age.
"I love 'Black Panther,'" Phan said. "I'm a huge comic book fan, so I know the origin, I know the set up and the the world. I love it."
They heard about the "Black Panther" Challenge, a GoFundme initiative to send children to see the movie for free.
"Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids was doing it. I've seen Flint doing it. If Flint was doing it, then we should be doing it," Johnson said.
They started a GoFundMe campaign of their own to give back to the Lansing community they grew up in and love so deeply.
"I really wanted to find a way to show specifically the kids in our community that, hey, you can do more with your life and that there's people in the community that care and are willing to support you," Phan said.
Since they've raised more than their goal of $600, they'll be able to send even more kids to go see the movie than initially expected.
They were able to buy 100 tickets, selling out an entire theater for kids from The Boys and Girls Club along with their chaperones.
"It's a really good feeling that everybody has this collaboration that they want to see this happen and they support the movement," Phan said.
"I think they'll love it, and like I said, it's someone they can relate to more," Johnson said.
"Black Panther" will be released Friday.
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