'Black Panther' Slated: Highest Grossing Superhero Of All Time Tracking to Pass 'Avengers'
Continuing a remarkably successful run topping even the most optimistic predictions, director Ryan Coogler's Marvel superhero masterpiece Black Panther topped $1.2 billion in worldwide theatrical receipts Wednesday, heading into a weekend that will (probably) see it finally relinquish the #1 spot at the box office to Pacific Rim Uprising.
After it reaches $1.2 billion this week, Black Panther still has enough gas left in its tank to add an additional $60-80+ million in global revenue to its cume, depending on what happens over the next few weekends as some potentially major contenders arrive, including Pacific Rim Uprising, Ready Player One, and Rampage.
That means Black Panther could be looking at a final worldwide box office tally in the range of a high-end $1.28+ billion, if at least one of the upcoming challengers stumbles and underperforms while Black Panther continues to over-perform and to enjoy small weekly declines. Using that good ol' modest estimating method that so far has failed to keep pace with reality, but which we all assume will eventually prove more accurate, a more "likely" outcome is a final total in the neighborhood of $1.27+/- billion.
What's interesting here -- besides literally everything else about the film and its theatrical run, that is -- is that with just another weekend of space between Black Panther and the flurry of new releases inevitably chipping away at this movie's grip on the marketplace, and with a bit better holds in China for a higher return there, Coogler's picture could've made a run at $1.3 billion (which is still possible, mind you). Of course, there's arguably no point in contemplating ways this already-massive financial windfall could've been even more spectacular than it already is. Still, it's hard not to consider the inevitable proximity to $1.3 billion and wonder what might've pushed it closer.
This weekend, Black Panther's eventual $1.22+ billion to-date total will send it leaping past Iron Man 3, the last movie standing in Black Panther'sway before taking the crown as the all-time highest grossing solo superhero film in cinema history. Black Panther should eclipse Iron Man 3 sometime tomorrow (Friday).
A finish of $1.264+ billion would make it the #11 highest grossing movie in history. But if it plays even higher at $1.277+ billion, then it becomes the #10 highest grossing movie of all time. And regardless, it will be the third-highest grossing superhero movie ever made, behind only the first two Avengers pictures.
Here's a particularly interesting fact to consider: after Avengers: Infinity War this summer, and then 2019's release of Avengers 4 (the title of which is still a big secret), Black Panther will have appeared in a total of four MCU releases, every single one of which grossed more than $1.1+ billion. Sure, two of those are Avengers movies, but two of them aren't.
And even if the Black Panther sequel doesn't rise quite as high as this first solo outing, I bet you dollars to donuts it'll still top $1 billion (especially if they do inevitably make it a Wakanda vs Atlantis storyline introducing Prince Namor, for example). So eventually, it's likely T'Challa's record will continue apace at five total MCU appearances all north of $1+ billion, three of which aren't Avengers movies. Pretty impressive.
On the lowest end of low end predictions, Black Panther will finish in the $1.26+ billion range, territory that just a few weeks ago seemed like the high-end of what it might amass. How quickly our upper limit expectations get trampled in the dust.
Avengers: Infinity War opens in just five weeks, and we already know Wakanda and Black Pantherplay a major role in that film. Indeed, Infinity Waris a direct follow-up to Black Panther, and Kevin Feige has already told us a huge and important portion of the upcoming team-up extravaganza takes place in Wakanda.
Hopefully Marvel Studios has a bunch of TV spots and social media marketing (to specifically reach demographics who overindex on social media and mobile devices -- demographics who showed up in massive numbers at the box office for Black Panther and drove its enormous success) ready to roll out in the coming weeks that focus on Black Panther and Wakanda, to push the point that Infinity War is a continuation of Black Panther's saga and fans of the solo movie should definitely show up to see the new Avengers title.
Infinity War is obviously going to be a major blockbuster to the tune of more than $1+ billion. But every boost helps, and the fact is turning out the folks who were dramatically overrepresented in Black Panther's audience would assure Infinity War of a final box office cume eclipsing 2012's The Avengers. I'm sure much of that segment of the audience already plans to show up, but getting them pumped and excited, and directly reaching out to them in a loud and consistent manner will pay even bigger dividends.
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