‘Black Panther’ Crosses $201 Million, 5th Film to Earn $200 Million-Plus in 3 Days
Marvel film could have second-highest four-day start after President’s Day
Jeremy Fuster | February 19, 2018 @ 7:47 AM
Last Updated: February 19, 2018 @ 8:31 AM
Marvel Studios
“Black Panther” has performed beyond analysts’ wildest expectations, becoming the fifth film in history to score a $200 million-plus opening weekend with a estimated three-day count of $201.7 million.
That’s bigger than the $191 million start for “Avengers: Age of Ultron” and joins “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” “Jurassic World,” and “The Avengers” in the all-time Top 5 for debuts.
That comes after the film made a spectacular $60 million on Sunday, just a half-million shy of breaking the all-time record for Sunday totals held by “The Force Awakens.”
“Black Panther” has performed so well that it has shattered all comps for Presidents Day, so analysts have little idea just how much money it will bring in on Monday. However, if it earns $40 million on Monday, it will have a four-day total of $241 million, bigger than the start for “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” two months ago and the second-biggest four-day start in box office history.
Disney’s more conservative projections have “Black Panther” falling short of that mark with a $33.3 million Monday based on a 45 percent drop, but that still beats the four day starts for “Avengers” ($226.3 million) and “Jurassic World” ($234.1 million).
“Black Panther” has already blown by several records, beating the February opening record of $132 million set by “Deadpool” by a staggering 52 percent and the pre-summer opening record of $174 million set by the “Beauty and the Beast” remake by 15.5 percent.
On IMAX, the film has contributed to the premium format’s second biggest global weekend of all-time, making $35 million from 676 screens worldwide, the biggest weekend ever for a Marvel film, and combining with returns from a record setting weekend in China for a currently estimated total of $53 million.
'Black Panther': All the Box Office Records It Has Broken So Far (Photos)
"Black Panther" has been breaking box office records left and right, and it still may not be done. But for now, here are some of the historical feats "Black Panther" has pulled off and the big-name films it has managed to top at the box office.
Marvel
Highest Domestic Grossing Superhero Movie: After six weekends in theaters, "Black Panther" has passed the domestic run of "The Avengers," which made $623 million in 2012. That puts it in the top five on the all-time domestic charts, and makes it the biggest superhero movie in U.S. box office history.
Biggest February opening weekend: Two years ago, "Deadpool" pushed the boundaries of what R-rated blockbuster can do at the box office with a $152 million four-day start on President's Day weekend. But "Black Panther" is blowing by that record with $192 million in three days.
Marvel
Biggest pre-summer opening weekend: Hollywood has recognized that a box office hit can be released at any time of the year, as seen when the live-action remake of "Beauty and the Beast" made $174.7 million last year. "Black Panther" is expected to beat that record by an $18 million margin.
Walt Disney Pictures
Biggest opening for a non-team-up superhero movie: Superhero movies with more than one hero like "The Avengers" tend to make more money than their single-hero counterparts, but "Black Panther" has not only beaten a five-year record held by "Iron Man 3," but is also posting a higher opening than films like "Avengers: Age of Ultron" and "Captain America: Civil War," films that have showcased all of Marvel's biggest heroes and, in the case of "Civil War," featured Black Panther in his big screen debut.
Marvel
Top 5 highest openings of all-time: "Black Panther" won't stay in the top 5 for very long, as "Avengers: Infinity War" will bump it off the list when it hits theaters in May. But for now, "Black Panther" will sit alongside the likes of "Jurassic World," "The Avengers" and the two latest "Star Wars" films for the biggest openings of all-time. Along with the aforementioned films like "Civil War" and "Age of Ultron," "Black Panther" has topped titles like "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2," "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" and Christopher Nolan's "Dark Knight" films.
Marvel
Highest grossing film by a Black Director: It has been a watershed year for black filmmakers, with Barry Jenkins' "Moonlight" winning Best Picture, Jordan Peele getting a Best Director Oscar nomination for "Get Out" and F. Gary Gray directing a billion-dollar hit with "The Fate of the Furious." Now there are two black directors ranked in the top 15 highest grossing films of all-time, with Ryan Coogler and "BP" passing Gray's $1.23 billion worldwide cume for the eighth "Fast & Furious" film
Getty Images
Biggest Opening By A Film With A Black Lead Character: Among the top 25 openings of all-time, only two films have black lead characters: "Furious 7" with Dwayne Johnson and "Suicide Squad" with Will Smith. Now "Black Panther," with its ten black actors led by Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa, joins them on that list.
Five straight weekends at No. 1: In the 80s and 90s, 19 films stayed atop the weekend box office charts for five weekends or more. But since the turn of the century, only "Avatar" was able to reach that mark in 2010 with seven weekends at No. 1. "Black Panther" now joins those ranks with five weekends atop the charts.
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Ryan Coogler and “Black Panther” are making box office history
"Black Panther" has been breaking box office records left and right, and it still may not be done. But for now, here are some of the historical feats "Black Panther" has pulled off and the big-name films it has managed to top at the box office.
Marvel
