Black Panther broke records this weekend, raking in an estimated $192 million at the domestic box office and $361 million worldwide over three days. The total is expected to grow for the four-day holiday weekend.
The movie now holds the title for the highest-grossing February debut by a large margin, beating out Deadpool’s $132 million opening weekend total for 20th Century Fox. As Marvel movies continue to dominate the box office, Black Panther is another huge win. The film is only second to The Avengers for opening weekend box office totals for Marvel Studios.
Box Office Totals. Source: comScore
The opening was the fifth highest-earning of any film for the U.S. box office, following Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Jurassic World, and The Avengers. This notably gives Disney four out of five of the biggest U.S. openings thanks to Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm.
Directed by Ryan Coogler and featuring a predominately black cast, the opening also provided a milestone of more cultural significance. It marks the largest opening weekend in the U.S. for a film by a black director (beating out The Fate of the Furious, directed by F. Gary Gray). Coogler, 31, previously directed Creed and Fruitvale Station.
In addition to breaking sales records, Black Panther has received overall positive reviews from critics and fans alike. It earned an A+ CinemaScore, Marvel’s first since The Avengers. The movie also currently holds a 97% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes. According to the site, Black Panther is currently on track to be the highest-rated live action superhero movie of all time if the score holds. Iron Man and The Dark Knight would be tied for second with scores of 94% each.
You can read The Marvel Report’s review of Black Panther here.