Wakanda forever.
Although estimates indicate Black Panther’s historic 5-week run at the top of the US box office ended this weekend with Pacific Rim Uprising taking the top slot, T’Challa claimed another crown in the process. Black Panther has pulled in an estimated $630.9 million as of this weekend so far, pipping 2012's Avengers to become the highest grossing superhero movie in U.S. history (Not accounting for inflation).
It’s the latest in a string of records the movie has taken since it launched last month, and it’s not just domestically that Black Panther is soaring. Globally the film has now pulled in just over $1.2 billion, and by the end of the weekend is expected to surpass Iron Man 3 to become the third-highest grossing comic book movie worldwide—only surpassed by Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Black Panther’s cinematic success means so much more than oodles of cash for Marvel—its loud, proud proof that diverse blockbuster can’t just succeed, but become some of the biggest films in history. Let’s hope an era of diverse, brilliant blockbuster films is just beginning.