The tracking and buzz over the past few weeks had been surging, but I don't think anyone expected Black Panther to be as huge as it ended up. The latest Marvel flick was an absolute beast this weekend, pulling in $202 million(!) over just the three-day weekend alone ($50,250 per-venue average!). With Monday being a holiday, the four-day total reached $242.2 million. Analysts, in comparison, were projecting a four-day debut north of $150 million. The main reason for this huge debut comes down to how groundbreaking the movie is. With a predominantly African-American cast, Black Panther pulled in a much bigger, much more diverse crowd than most Marvel flicks. For Marvel, the three-day weekend ranks second to The Avengers ($207 million), and it's the fifth-biggest opening in history behind that movie, Jurassic World ($209 million), Star Wars: The Last Jedi ($220 million) and Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($248 million). Altogether, Disney now owns eight of the Top 10 openings of all-time.
Including Monday, Black Panther has the second-biggest 4-day opening in history behind only The Force Awakens. Other records shattered include the largest February opening ever (unseating Deadpool), the biggest pre-Summer opening (unseating Beauty and the Beast from last year), and the highest-grossing Monday on record (the insane $40.2 million pick-up narrowly outgrosses The Force Awakens' first Monday). It's also shocking to note that Black Panther outgrossed Captain America: Civil War ($179 million) and Avengers: Age of Ultron ($191 million) for their opening weekends.
Reviews for Black Panther were among the best ever for a superhero movie (96% on Rotten Tomatoes), and the CinemaScore was a rare "A+". While it is likely there was upfront audience rush, positive word-of-mouth could carry this movie all the way through March and into April. Competition is pretty much a non-factor until fellow Disney release A Wrinkle in Time opens March 9. The budget was around $200 million, and Disney was forecasting a debut around $150 million.
Overseas, while not necessarily record-shattering numbers, Black Panther is still pulling strong numbers. The film pulled in $186 million from most international territories, for a worldwide launch of $430 million. That is in line with the worldwide debut of Batman v. Superman from two years ago (I get that's not a Marvel film, though). Unless it proves to be incredibly front-loaded, Black Panther seems likely to get to a $1 billion finish.
Black Panther commanded 70% of this weekend's overall strong business. But there were other movies too. Following a very good debut last weekend, Peter Rabbit pulled in fairly strong business over the extended weekend. The Beatrix Potter adaptation was off 30% from last weekend to $17.5 million ($23.4 million including Monday), for a decent $54.4 million pick-up in 11 days. The family film should continue to play well in the next few weeks.
Falling from first to third was the finale of the adult trilogy, Fifty Shades Freed. The R-rated adaptation was down 55% over the three-day weekend to $17.3 million ($19.4 million including Monday), for a decent $78.6 million gross in 11 days. It also continues to be strong overseas, with the worldwide gross approaching $300 million. Remaining in fourth place, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle was relatively unfazed by the strong competition. The well-received video game adaptation was off just 21% to $7.9 million ($10 million including Monday), for a spectacular $379.7 million gross in nine weeks of release. It also passed $900 million worldwide this weekend.
Clint Eastwood's The 15:17 to Paris had a decent hold in its second weekend, off 40% to $7.6 million ($8.9 million including Monday). The true-story thriller has earned a lukewarm $26.7 million in 11 days. Continuing a remarkable run in its ninth weekend was The Greatest Showman. The musical hit was off only 21% over the three-day weekend to $5 million ($6.5 million including Monday), for a fantastic $155.9 million gross in 63 days. It's also about to reach $350 million worldwide thanks to a strong debut in Japan.
Opening in seventh place with terrible results was the latest from Aardman, Early Man. Despite strong reviews (84% on Rotten Tomatoes), the clay-mation project pulled in a weak $3.2 million ($4.3 million including Monday, and a weak $1,270 per-venue average for the 3-day). Some were expecting this film to reach the high-single digits over the four-day stretch. But the combo punch of Black Panther and Peter Rabbit left very little for this caveman comedy. Perhaps distributor Lionsgate should have picked a different date for it (especially considering it was heavily-marketed). The budget was $50 million.
Maze Runner: The Death Cure fell hard, as expected, with another PG-13 action flick in theaters. The final installment in the YA trilogy was down 58% to $2.6 million ($3.2 million including Monday), for a forgettable $54.7 million gross in 25 days. The good news, however, is that it has passed $250 million worldwide, easily enough for profit in the face of just a $62 million budget. Horror flick Winchester followed with a 58% drop in its third frame to $2.2 million ($2.6 million including Monday). The Helen Mirren flick has earned a similarly-forgettable $22.2 million in 18 days with very little to go.
Rounding out the list was Oscar nominee The Post, which was off 45% to $2 million over the three-day stretch ($2.4 million including Monday). Steven Spielberg's latest is at a very good $77 million since its limited start 63 days ago.
Just below the Top 10 was Pure Flix's Samson, which also came in considerably behind expectations with a $1.9 million three-day start and $2.3 million including Monday. The Biblical thriller averaged a weak $1,556 from 1,249 locations. I also wonder why this date was chosen for this movie especially with a four-quadrant movie to play against. Reviews were bad too (25% on Rotten Tomatoes).
That's about it. Next weekend will bring a quieter stretch as Natalie Portman's sci-fi flick Annihilation opens against comedy Game Night. Both films are earning strong critical reception, but both will be no match for Black Panther's second weekend. Look out for my predictions post tomorrow night.
