Black Panther this weekend surpassed Marvel Cinematic Universe sibling The Avengers in North American box office earnings, making it the highest-grossing superhero movie of all time there. The total, estimated at more than $624 million, also means Black Panther has motored past Star Wars: The Last Jedi into fifth place all-time on the domestic box office leaderboard.
The Hollywood Reportercited the new figures on Saturday morning. Box Office Mojo has yet to update its lists. Still, it points to the biceps on director Ryan Coogler’s action flick, which premiered Feb. 16. and is still showing in nearly 4,000 theaters. Worldwide, Black Panther has surpassed more than $1.2 billion in ticket sales, good for 14th place. THR projects the film will overtake Iron Man 3 (2013) and begin challenging last year’s The Fate of the Furious ($1.236 billion) for 12th position by the end of the weekend.
Black Panther cost about $200 million to make and market so, yeah, this is something of a big hit for Disney and Marvel Studios. It is the fifth Marvel film to breach the $1 billion barrier and the 16th Disney film to rake in 10 figures. It set a record for biggest February premiere, beating 2016’s Deadpool, and hasn’t looked back.
Black Panther has since become a mainstream cultural phenomenon, spoof-worthy on Saturday Night Live, and booking a sequel before its domestic run has ended. It’s also a pretty good show. If you haven’t seen it, check out our review.
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