Black Panther continues it’s rule of the Box Office as we move into the long weekend!!! Get a ticket (if you can)
With Marvel’s Black Panther one of the most anticipated movies of all time, box office records are expected to break this weekend – and the movie has already managed one significant feat. Disney reports the MCU installment kicked off its opening last night with $25.2 million. That’s Marvel’s second-best showing for Thursday night previews, and it’s a new peak for a non-sequel debut.
The extra bit of change after the decimal point is key, because it means Black Panther sold slightly more tickets than Captain America: Civil War, in which the former’s eponymous African superhero made his movie introduction. The only Marvel movie to out-gross Black Panther in Thursday previews is Avengers: Age of Ultron, which did $27.6 million in 2015.
Other superhero movies to post larger numbers on the eve of their release date include Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice ($27.7 million) and The Dark Knight Rises ($30.5 million). The previous record holder for a non-sequel was The Avengers, which grossed $19 million back in 2012. Of course, we’re ignoring inflation, as well as the fact that both movies are still franchise installments.
This poem a mom wrote to her son prior to seeing #BlackPanther is so real, lovely and heartfelt that I needed to shout it out. I hope you both enjoyed the experience, @IKNOMYWORTH, and that it will forever be a memorable one for you both pic.twitter.com/NBk9VA1y7n
— ErikDavis (@ErikDavis) February 16, 2018
Another record Black Panther can claim is best Thursday night preview for a February release. The previous holder there was Deadpool, which did about half as much ($12.7 million) in midnight previews in 2016. But it’s not the best for a movie released outside the summer months. Batman v Superman did better pre-summer and the Star Wars and Twilight franchises performed better in post-summer release.
Given that Civil War went on to a domestic opening weekend gross of $179 million and Age of Ultron debuted with $191 million, Black Panther could be seeing something in the middle of those two numbers. Of course, The Avengers went even further with a $207 million opening.
With so much hype, and such phenomenal advance sales and remarkable reviews (98% score on Rotten Tomatoes!), there’s a chance the movie will still overperform even the most optimistic projection. Regardless, it’s already a certainty that Black Pantherwill have the best opening for a solo superhero’s first movie, topping Deadpool‘s $132 million.
Black Panther is already raking in big bucks overseas, too. The movie is up to $47 million in international gross after three days, blowing away figures during the same timeframe for solo superhero Marvel movies such as Doctor Strange and last year’s Thor: Ragnarok, according to Box Office Mojo.
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