Not since the release of James Cameron’s Avatar has a box office titan had the same staying power as Black Panther.
This past weekend, Marvel’s Afrocentric blockbuster was crowned king of the box office (and for the fifth week on the trot, no less) with $27 million, taking its domestic haul to $605.4 million for a worldwide total north of $1.1 billion.
That figure was enough to see off competition from the rebooted Tomb Raider, which scooped up around $23.5 million in ticket sales across North America. To its credit, the Alicia Vikander-fronted adventure film was #1 overseas, and Black Panther has been blazing a trail of its own straight into the Hollywood history books, so this record is merely the latest to be added to Wakanda’s trophy cabinet.
As a matter of fact, the latest time a film retained total control of the domestic box office for five consecutive weeks was Avatar. And before that? The Sixth Sense all the way back in 1999, which really gives you a sense of Black Panther‘s continued momentum.
This truly feels like a once-in-a-generation piece of filmmaking, one that will have far-reaching implications – cultural, social, economic – for the MCU and beyond. When it comes to Marvel’s superhero franchise, in particular, we know Wakanda will be angled as something of an “anchor point” for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes going forward, while we fully expect Kevin Feige to strike a deal with Ryan Coogler over a possible sequel sooner rather than later.
One thing’s for sure: T’Challa and Black Panther‘s ensemble cast – namely Okoye (Danai Gurira), Shuri (Letitia Wright) and Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) – will all return for Avengers: Infinity War, which will tee up the next era of the MCU on April 27th.
