Disney, which has the financial security to invest in any movie it wants, had a good weekend at the box office yet again.Black Pantherpulled in another $41 million to bring its domestic total to $562 million. The movie also passed the $1 billion mark and is now the second-biggest superhero movie of all-time behindThe Avengers. While some speculated that the film might not perform in China, the movie also did well in that coveted territory, pulling in $66.5 million to become one of the country’s five-biggest openings for a superhero movie. Now the only question left forBlack Pantheris how far can it go.
Meanwhile,A Wrinkle in Timecame in second place with $33.3 million. Unfortunately, with the film costing $103 million, once you factor in P&A, there’s no getting around that the film didn’t perform as well as Disney had hoped, especially with a B CinemaScore. My hope is that other studios don’t look at this return and assume that audiences won’t turn out for a movie directed by an African-American woman, and instead realize that it’s a crowded marketplace.
Elsewhere at the box office,The Strangers: Prey at Nightcame in third with $10.5 million.The Hurricane Heistcouldn’t make off with any money as the movie opened to a dismal ninth with $3.2 million. Finally, the dark comedyGringoopened outside the Top 10 with $2.6 million.
In terms of indies,The Shape of Waterenjoyed a post-Best Picture bump by pulling in $2.4 million from 1,552 theaters — a 63 percent jump — for a domestic total of $61 million and $148 million globally. The movie arrives on Blu-ray on Tuesday. New limited releaseThoroughbredsmade $1.2 million from just 549 theaters. AndThe Death of Stalin, opening in only 4 theaters, made $45,327 per theater, which is the best of the year so far behindBlack Pantheraccording toTHR.
Here’s the top five for the weekend at the box office:
Weekend Domestic BO
Total Domestic BO
1. ‘Black Panther’
$41136,000
$562,015,601
- ’A Wrinkle in Time’
$33,316,000
- ‘The Strangers: Prey at Night’
$10,480,000
4. ‘Red Sparrow’
$8,150,000
$31,118,743
5. ‘Game Night’
$7,905,000
$45,045,632
