Select Page

Talia Soares

Presenter

February 19, 2018

Black Panther was making history before release5 min read

Black Panther was making history before release- it’s the first film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with an African-American lead – and it continued to do so since release on Friday. The latest superhero chapter from Disney-Marvel amassed $192 million in the US during the opening weekend, beating the February record held by Deadpool. Overall, that makes Black Panther the fifth-highest opening of all-time in America, behind Avengers in fourth ($207 million), and ahead of Age of Ultron in sixth ($191 million). The two recent Star Wars – The Force Awakens, and The Last Jedi – lead the way, followed by Jurassic World in third.

Outside the US, Black Panther added another $169 million, bringing the worldwide opening weekend total to $361 million. That puts Black Panther fifteenth on the list of all-time worldwide box office openings, behind fellow Marvel entries in Avengers (9th), Age of Ultron (10th), Captain America: Civil War (13th), and Iron Man 3 (14th).

South Korea was the biggest earner internationally for Black Panther, with $25.3 million, next was the UK/ Ireland with $24.8.

Disney distribution chief Dave Hollis said in a statement , “There are seven billion people on this planet and they come from all walks of life, Audiences deserve to see themselves reflected on the big screen. Beyond being the right thing to do, it makes for richer storytelling.”

Disney is predicting a $218 million-plus haul for the four-day US holiday period. Though the studio hasn’t revealed Black Panther’s official budget, estimates put it around $200 million before marketing.

X