There is no stoppingBlack Panther. Box office projections for the Marvel Studios film continued to rise in the weeks leading up to its release, and it shattered all expectations witha massive three-day opening weekendof $192 million. Or did it? As it turns out, projections for Sunday’sBlack Pantherwere low, and that estimated total is incorrect. Disney announced this morning that the film surged on Sunday, finishing with $60.1 million for the day and setting a record for the second-best Sunday gross in history. As a result, the film’s three-day box office total is actually $201.8 million and it’s on track for a four-day total of $235 million.
Yes indeed,Black Pantherbroke the $200 million opening weekend barrier, becoming only the fifth film to do so afterMarvel’s The Avengers,Jurassic World,Star Wars: The Last Jedi, andStar Wars: The Force Awakens. Indeed, the Top 5 opening weekends of all time domestically now looks like this:
1.Star Wars: The Force Awakens- $247,966,675
2.Star Wars: The Last Jedi- $220,009,584
3.Jurassic World- $208,806,270
4.Marvel’s The Avengers- $207,438,708
5.Black Panther- $201,797,000
That’s kind of amazing. Four sequels/reboots and then a standalone superhero movie led by a nearly all-black cast. Sure the film scored a boost by being part of the Marvel Studios brand, but plenty of other new Marvel movies have launched in the past that haven’t even come close to touching the $200 million barrier—Doctor Strangeopened to $85 million andAnt-Manopened to $57 million. EvenCaptain America: Civil Waronly hit $179 million on opening weekend, and the next highest opening weekend for a solo character-launch movie from Marvel isSpider-Man: Homecomingwith $117 million. This is genuinely groundbreaking stuff.
And these Sunday numbers prove the film has legs. It’ll be interesting to see how high this thing soars. The next “blockbuster” on the release schedule isA Wrinkle in Timeon March 9th, so it has a few weekends to really run free. The other question is how/if this affects theAvengers: Infinity Warbox office. DoesBlack Panthermake people more excited for that Marvel team-up, or are a lot of fans who turned up forBlack Panthersimply going to be waiting for a return to Wakanda? I honestly find myself a little less interested inInfinity WarafterBlack Panther—here’s hoping Marvel is working on a way to get more Shuri, Okoye, and Nakia on our screens sooner rather than later.
BetweenBlack PantherandWonder Womanit really feels like we’re in a watershed moment for representation in the most popular genre around. Not only are both of these films good, audiences turned up in droves. Compare that to something likeJustice League, whose domestic box office total will have been eclipsed byBlack Pantherin a single week. Here’s hoping Hollywood takes notice.
For more onBlack Panther, peruse our recent coverage in the links below.
