The Black Panther movie has had a long and bumpy ride, but it’s finally here! It’s been in development for over 20 years, but was it worth the wait? Heck to the yeah, it was! Ryan Coogler did an amazing job of showing us the fictional kingdom of Wakanda, some of its customs and traditions, and the people from different tribes living under the rule of Chadwick Boseman’s titular character – the Black Panther.
Movie starts right after the events of Captain America: Civil War, where we saw king T’Challa’s alter ego Black Panther in his Vibranium-woven, bulletproof cat suit, chasing down Bucky Barnes and, eventually, Zemo. After all is said and done he takes Cap and Bucky to Wakanda, where they freeze Barnes for the time being, and Cap skips town, and does whatever Cap does. Probably got stuck saving a country somewhere in the world, I dunno.
Anyway, as I was saying, the Black Panther movie starts right after all that. T’Challa is still grieving after the death of his father, but he’s the king now, right? Well, not exactly. Not to spoil too much of the movie for you, let’s just say he’ll have to overcome some difficulties to become the king of Wakanda. I know it sounds generic, but what do you want me to tell you? That his father [REDACTED] his [REDACTED]? Or that [REDACTED] appeared out of nowhere and [REDACTED] Black Panther’s [REDACTED]?
Sorry, sorry, I know you’re here to see those fascinating box-office stats, but to tell you the truth, I’m stalling for time… Because this movie has broken so many records already, I’m constantly refreshing the page hoping to add another busted record to the list. To be fair, I did skip a few incredibly specific records, meant to bloat these kinds of lists, so you’re getting only the top 5 most important ones. Wakanda forever!
Record Ticket Presales Passing All Superhero Films
Initially the so-called analysts predicted Black Panther to hit around $90 mil in its opening weekend, but oh bow, were they wrong! The previous #1 was Snyder’s Batman V Superman with $166 mil at the domestic box office. Black Panther is currently at $170 mil, so GG, BvS, you won’t be missed! Will Avengers: Infinity War be able to top that? I’m gonna say it’ll double it.
Topped All Super Hero Solo Films on the Opening Day
Okay, okay, this one’s very specific, but if you think about it, the first day is a great benchmark! On February 17 Black Panther hit $76 million, being only $4 mil shy of beating the first Avengers ($80.81 mil), but that’s a team-up, and it wouldn’t be fair to pit T’Challa against the Avengers.
February Opening Weekend Record – Broken Again!
Just 2 years ago we had Deadpool, with its amazing, seemingly unbeatable $152 mil 4-day gross, and now the King of Wakanda rolls in with, wait for it… $201 mil over the weekend! February aside, this made the Black Panther #5 highest-grossing opening weekend of all time, right after The Avengers ($207 mil), Jurassic World ($209 mil), Star Wars: The Last Jedi ($220 mil), and Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($248 mil). Long live King T’Challa!
Biggest Opening For An African-American Director
The $201 mil earned over the weekend puts Coogler as the #1 highest-grossing African-American director. The previous record-holder is F. Gary Gray with his “The Fate of the Furious” ($98 mil) in April 2017. Let’s just say that Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther won’t have any competition anytime soon.
Highest-Rated Superhero Movie
And finally, the most important of all these records: according to the Rotten Tomatoes, Black Panther is currently the highest-rated superhero movie of all-time with 97-98% Certified Fresh rating. Which means that (by numbers, at least) the Black Panther is better than The Incredibles (97%), Iron Man (94%), Logan (93%), and the Avengers (92%).
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