UPDATE: 'Black Panther' demolishes box office records with $202 million three-day weekend and $242.1 million holiday opening
UPDATE #2: Box Office Mojo now has Black Panther at $202 million for the three-day weekend and $242.1 million for the holiday frame.
UPDATE: Per Deadline, Marvel's Black Panther has soared even higher, grossing $40.167 million on Monday for a four-day total of $241.96 million. That's the second-highest four-day total of all time, behind only Star Wars: The Force Awakens. But in a fun bit of trivia, Black Panther actually had the biggest Monday of all time, beating Force Awakens' $40.11 million. Original weekend report is below.
We all had a gut feeling. Everyone in the industry knew something monumental was about to happen. There was only one question left: How high would Black Panther go?
Ever since the first trailer debuted last June, the hype for Black Panther, Marvel's first superhero movie with a predominantly black cast, has been absolutely deafening. The character of T'Challa/Black Panther, played by Chadwick Boseman, was first introduced in 2016's Captain America: Civil War as a supporting player, a mediator in the conflict between Steve Rogers and Tony Stark. But we knew that more adventures in the wondrous land of Wakanda were on the horizon, and Marvel assembled a stellar creative team for this solo outing. Led by Creed director Ryan Coogler, an immensely talented assembly of craft experts, and a cast that includes popular actors such as Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, Letitia Wright, Forest Whitaker, and many more, Black Panther quickly became one of the most-anticipated movies of 2018. But in the weeks leading up to its release, it was clear that this was more than a movie- this was going to be a genuine cultural phenomenon, an event that would blow us all away.
Before the film opened on Thursday night, I predicted on Twitter that Black Panther would make $205-210 million during its traditional opening weekend and $235-240 million over the extended President's Day frame. That was a bold prediction at the time, way beyond what the tracking indicated or what Disney claimed to be predicting. And not to pat myself on the back too much, but I ended up being pretty dang close. In its first three days at the box office, Marvel's Black Panther grossed a spectacular $201.7 million, enough for the fifth-biggest opening weekend of all time. The film was behind only the last two Star Wars saga films ($247.9 million and $220 million, respectively), Colin Trevorrow's Jurassic World ($208.8 million), and Joss Whedon's The Avengers ($207.4 million). And to be quite honest, it would have beaten the latter two if its release had fallen on a typical, non-holiday window.
Instead, it'll have to settle for a boffo $235 million four-day total, which could end up going much higher when the actual numbers come in tomorrow. For now, that's the third-highest four-day total of all time, behind only, you guessed it, Star Wars: The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. On an interesting note, Black Panther opened in only 4,020 theaters, making it the first film to open above $150 million in less than 4,100 locations. The result was a stunning per theater average of $50,100, the third-highest of all time.
In terms of its MCU competition, with the lone exception of the aforementioned Avengers, Black Panther annihilated every superhero rival in its path. It soared past the opening of every Batman movie ever made, and it also topped Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Age of Ultron in the process, two films that featured massive assemblies of superheroes. Adjusted for inflation, The Dark Knight and Ultron opened just a tic higher, but that's nothing, especially when you put those four-day numbers into consideration. And of course, this stat has been thrown around a lot, but Black Panther made more in just four days than Justice League did in its entire run. That reinforces not only Marvel's dominance in the superhero realm, but also just how hugely important Black Panther has become as a cultural moment.
Taking a look at the Box Office Mojo record books, Black Panther is already finding itself in fine company. It's the biggest February opening of all time, easily topping Deadpool's $132.4 million (and we thought that movie was a smash). In fact, it's the biggest opening for a movie in the winter season, beating the Merc with a Mouth again in that category. All of this means that it's obviously the biggest President's Day weekend hit of all time. And finally, it's the largest opening for a movie released before May, a stunning feat.
On a daily level, Black Panther didn't walk away with any records, but that doesn't mean it wasn't hugely impressive. Its opening day of $75.8 million (which also included around $25.2 million on Thursday night) is the eighth-biggest of all time, behind only those previously mentioned titles and more front-loaded movies like Batman v Superman and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. On Saturday, Panther grossed $65.8 million, enough for the fourth-biggest Saturday of all time. Sunday was even more shocking, as Ryan Coogler's film finished with $60 million, placing it in the #2 slot on the all-time charts. And while this obviously depends on where that Monday gross ends up, Black Panther's $33.2 million daily total means that the film is currently holding the #2 spot there as well.
Internationally, the film has made $169 million thus far, with several more markets to go. When all's said and done, this is just amazing work by Marvel and Coogler- they delivered a movie that fans wanted to see for a long time, and they did it right. Marvel has been behind on the diversity front for a while (the inexplicable lack of a female director or a Black Widow movie), but they took a huge step in the right direction here. While it helps that the film is terrific (review soon), this movie has the potential to change the way that Hollywood operates. Every bogus, ridiculous idea about audiences not supporting minority-led films has been thrown out the window and absolutely demolished. Box office pundits like Forbes' Scott Mendelson have been saying it for years, but Black Panther is a downright revolutionary success, so totally unprecedented that Hollywood studios will simply have to change the way that they do things.
In terms of the final total, I'm not prepared to go there yet. This film could drop like a rock next weekend, but I don't see that happening. People are going to keep talking about this movie, and even with the Oscars in a few weeks, Black Panther is going to utterly dominate the cultural conversation. By the time all is said and done, could we be looking at the 3rd or 4th highest grossing movie of all time? I've been bullish on Black Panther's chances all along, but I think that a total surpassing Titanic isn't out of the question. Only time will tell.
At this point, Marvel's biggest concern is probably that Black Panther ends up out-grossing Avengers: Infinity War, the movie they've been building to for a decade. While I still think that the prevalence of Wakanda in marketing materials and the epic amount of hype for the third Avengers film will push it over the top, it's a distinct possibility at this point.
Whatever the case may be, audiences sent a clear message this weekend: Wakanda Forever.
Source: All numbers via Box Office Mojo.
Images: Disney/Marvel/IMDb
UPDATE: Per Deadline, Marvel's Black Panther has soared even higher, grossing $40.167 million on Monday for a four-day total of $241.96 million. That's the second-highest four-day total of all time, behind only Star Wars: The Force Awakens. But in a fun bit of trivia, Black Panther actually had the biggest Monday of all time, beating Force Awakens' $40.11 million. Original weekend report is below.
We all had a gut feeling. Everyone in the industry knew something monumental was about to happen. There was only one question left: How high would Black Panther go?
Ever since the first trailer debuted last June, the hype for Black Panther, Marvel's first superhero movie with a predominantly black cast, has been absolutely deafening. The character of T'Challa/Black Panther, played by Chadwick Boseman, was first introduced in 2016's Captain America: Civil War as a supporting player, a mediator in the conflict between Steve Rogers and Tony Stark. But we knew that more adventures in the wondrous land of Wakanda were on the horizon, and Marvel assembled a stellar creative team for this solo outing. Led by Creed director Ryan Coogler, an immensely talented assembly of craft experts, and a cast that includes popular actors such as Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, Letitia Wright, Forest Whitaker, and many more, Black Panther quickly became one of the most-anticipated movies of 2018. But in the weeks leading up to its release, it was clear that this was more than a movie- this was going to be a genuine cultural phenomenon, an event that would blow us all away.
Instead, it'll have to settle for a boffo $235 million four-day total, which could end up going much higher when the actual numbers come in tomorrow. For now, that's the third-highest four-day total of all time, behind only, you guessed it, Star Wars: The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. On an interesting note, Black Panther opened in only 4,020 theaters, making it the first film to open above $150 million in less than 4,100 locations. The result was a stunning per theater average of $50,100, the third-highest of all time.
In terms of its MCU competition, with the lone exception of the aforementioned Avengers, Black Panther annihilated every superhero rival in its path. It soared past the opening of every Batman movie ever made, and it also topped Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Age of Ultron in the process, two films that featured massive assemblies of superheroes. Adjusted for inflation, The Dark Knight and Ultron opened just a tic higher, but that's nothing, especially when you put those four-day numbers into consideration. And of course, this stat has been thrown around a lot, but Black Panther made more in just four days than Justice League did in its entire run. That reinforces not only Marvel's dominance in the superhero realm, but also just how hugely important Black Panther has become as a cultural moment.
Taking a look at the Box Office Mojo record books, Black Panther is already finding itself in fine company. It's the biggest February opening of all time, easily topping Deadpool's $132.4 million (and we thought that movie was a smash). In fact, it's the biggest opening for a movie in the winter season, beating the Merc with a Mouth again in that category. All of this means that it's obviously the biggest President's Day weekend hit of all time. And finally, it's the largest opening for a movie released before May, a stunning feat.
On a daily level, Black Panther didn't walk away with any records, but that doesn't mean it wasn't hugely impressive. Its opening day of $75.8 million (which also included around $25.2 million on Thursday night) is the eighth-biggest of all time, behind only those previously mentioned titles and more front-loaded movies like Batman v Superman and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. On Saturday, Panther grossed $65.8 million, enough for the fourth-biggest Saturday of all time. Sunday was even more shocking, as Ryan Coogler's film finished with $60 million, placing it in the #2 slot on the all-time charts. And while this obviously depends on where that Monday gross ends up, Black Panther's $33.2 million daily total means that the film is currently holding the #2 spot there as well.
Internationally, the film has made $169 million thus far, with several more markets to go. When all's said and done, this is just amazing work by Marvel and Coogler- they delivered a movie that fans wanted to see for a long time, and they did it right. Marvel has been behind on the diversity front for a while (the inexplicable lack of a female director or a Black Widow movie), but they took a huge step in the right direction here. While it helps that the film is terrific (review soon), this movie has the potential to change the way that Hollywood operates. Every bogus, ridiculous idea about audiences not supporting minority-led films has been thrown out the window and absolutely demolished. Box office pundits like Forbes' Scott Mendelson have been saying it for years, but Black Panther is a downright revolutionary success, so totally unprecedented that Hollywood studios will simply have to change the way that they do things.
In terms of the final total, I'm not prepared to go there yet. This film could drop like a rock next weekend, but I don't see that happening. People are going to keep talking about this movie, and even with the Oscars in a few weeks, Black Panther is going to utterly dominate the cultural conversation. By the time all is said and done, could we be looking at the 3rd or 4th highest grossing movie of all time? I've been bullish on Black Panther's chances all along, but I think that a total surpassing Titanic isn't out of the question. Only time will tell.
At this point, Marvel's biggest concern is probably that Black Panther ends up out-grossing Avengers: Infinity War, the movie they've been building to for a decade. While I still think that the prevalence of Wakanda in marketing materials and the epic amount of hype for the third Avengers film will push it over the top, it's a distinct possibility at this point.
Whatever the case may be, audiences sent a clear message this weekend: Wakanda Forever.
Source: All numbers via Box Office Mojo.
Images: Disney/Marvel/IMDb
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