Black Pantherwill end Sunday with an estimated $192 million, which would put it in second place as far as opening-weekend domestic grosses in the MCU, sandwiched between the twoAvengersmovies. With the added oomph of the holiday weekend, however,Black Pantheris on track to bring in $218 million by the end of Monday, ably surging pastAvengers' $207 million domestic take on its opening weekend. It’s also worth pointing out thatBlack Panthersmashed the previous record for highest-grossing February release, which was previously held byDeadpoolwith some $132 million. Oh, and it’s now the fifth largest domestic opening of all time as well.
This is all to say thatBlack Pantheris an even bigger hit than the most optimistic projections had it pegged to be, whether you get hung up on the nuances of holiday weekend vs. regular three-day weekend or not. Its foreign total is currently at $169 million, meaning that its full global take over its first full four days in theaters will be something very close to $400 million. ForRyan Coogler, the brilliant filmmaker behind Marvel’s latest, this should effectively put him in a position to call his own shots from now on. For Disney honchoBob Iger, it probably means a brand new Scrooge McDuck-esque swimmable bank vault for his second or third mansion.
In comparison, it seems borderline unfair to talk about the rest of the top five. A gulf of about $175 million separatesBlack Pantherfrom its closest rival,Peter Rabbit, which brought in $17.2 million, putting it just a hair aboveFifty Shades Freedin third place with $16.9 million in its second frame. In its ninth frame,Jumanji: Welcome to the Junglecontinues to do profound business, landing in fourth with $7.9 million to add to its $370 million domestic take, narrowly defeatingClint Eastwood’sThe 15:17 to Paris, which came in fifth with $7.8 million in its second frame.
This will almost certainly be Eastwood’s film’s last weekend in the top five, as next weekend bringsAlex Garland’s much-hypedAnnihilationand the big-box comedyGame Nightin wide release. Still, I would essentially guarantee thatBlack Pantherwill take next weekend as well and will only have a major rival whenAva DuVernay’sA Wrinkle in Time, another forward-looking Disney production helmed by a masterful black filmmaker, sees release in early March. One has to hope that the success of Coogler’s latest and the near-inevitable success of DuVernay’s film will mean that big studios will get more serious about bringing ambitious stories pitched prominently to black audiences in the future. There’s an irrefutable reason to keep that hope alive at this point, and that’s thanks largely to Coogler, his cast and crew, and the astounding movie they’ve made.
Here’s your top five at the box office for the three-day total:
Weekend Domestic BO
Total Domestic BO
1. ‘Black Panther’
$192,023,000
2. ’Peter Rabbit’
$17,250,000
$48,222,542
3. ‘Fifty Shades Freed’
$16,940,000
$76,134,455
- ‘Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle’
$7,945,000
$377,623,565
- ‘The 15:17 to Paris’
$7,685,000
$25,432,717
