Black Panther box office report: Film rockets to top spot in North America with record-breaking earnings of $242.2 mn

As the US kicked back for a long weekend, Disney’s Black Panther got off to a superhero start in the North American box office, rocketing to the top spot with record-breaking earnings of $242.2 million, industry data showed on 19 February. [caption id=“attachment_4359921” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  A still from Black Panther. Marvel Studios[/caption] According to figures from industry tracker Exhibitor Relations, the highly-anticipated 18th entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe earned $202 million over the weekend — exceeding predictions of $170 million. A new record Monday take of $40.2 million in the US pushed Black Panther’s staggering earnings even further beyond the previous record-holder Deadpool’s 2016 Presidents’ Day weekend mark of $152.1 million. Its performance overseas brought the global total to $426.6 million, which is already more than Marvel’s Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) and The Incredible Hulk (2008) made during their entire theatrical runs. The film, from Disney-owned Marvel Studios, features a star-studded, almost entirely black cast led by Chadwick Boseman as the first non-white superhero to get his own standalone movie in the franchise. Starring alongside Michael B Jordan and Lupita Nyong’o, Boseman plays the titular superhero also known as T’Challa, king and protector of the technologically advanced fictional African nation of Wakanda, an affluent, never-colonised utopia. Its various achievements include the second-largest four-day domestic opening weekend of all time, behind Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($288.1 million) and just ahead of Star Wars: The Last Jedi ($241.6 million). Its three-day opening breaks the record for February and is the best ever for an African-American director.