By the end of this weekend, T’Challa won’t just be King of Wakanda, he’ll be King of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as well - at least in the United States.
While
Black Panther is
expected to be dethroned from the number one spot at the box office this weekend by
Pacific Rim Uprising, Deadline projects the Marvel film will bring in an three-day estimated total of $17 million which would push the Ryan Coogler-directed film to a domestic total of $631.2 million by Sunday, making it the highest grossing Marvel Cinematic Universe movie stateside. That honor currently belongs to Marvel’s The Avengers which finished its domestic run with $623 million.
It’s unlikely
Black Panther will catch
Marvel’s The Avengers global total of $1.5 billion, but $1.2 billion at the worldwide box office is nothing to scoff at.
Marvel had high hopes for
Black Panther heading into its release, but the fact that this solo film could outearn the groundbreaking Marvel team-up from 2012 is absolutely astounding. What’s crazier is that
Black Panther’s spot atop the MCU might not be safe for long, as
Avengers: Infinity War - which looks to blow past box office records - is set to release on April 27. The upcoming blockbuster - which sees Thanos square off against Earth’s Mightiest in a battle 10 years in the making - is shattering pre-sale ticket records. Regardless of what happens in the coming weeks, nothing will take away from the monumental success and importance of
Black Panther.