If you didn't catch Black Panther this weekend, you might've seen star Chadwick Boseman at the NBA All-Star Game, or on the cover the cover of Rolling Stone today. Yes, the world has Panther fever. So much for the theory everyone's tired of superhero films.
Black Panther broke the $200 million mark this past weekend, becoming only the fifth film to do so after Marvel’s The Avengers, Jurassic World, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Here are the biggest domestic opening weekends of all time:
1. Star Wars: The Force Awakens – $247,966,675
2. Star Wars: The Last Jedi – $220,009,584
3. Jurassic World – $208,806,270
4. Marvel’s The Avengers – $207,438,708
5. Black Panther – $201,797,000
Also, consider the fact past Marvel movies like Doctor Strange ($85 million), Ant-Man ($57 million), and even Spider-Man: Homecoming ($117 million) didn't come close to Black Panther's opening weekend numbers, and the feat seems even more impressive.
In the film itself, Boseman plays King T'Challa, leader of the African nation of Wakanda, the richest and most technologically advanced place on Earth. But T'Challa is also the Black Panther, a black-clad nightmare for evil-doers who uses Wakandan resources vibranium and heart-shaped herbs for enhanced powers.
Black Panther is officially a blockbuster, and that means many things, among them the cover of Rolling Stone:
See Black Panther in theaters everywhere now. Of course, you probably already have.