The hype was most certainly legit. As expected, Black Panther pulled impressive numbers after its premiere on Friday, but the extent of the film's success was astonishing. With a cast featuring Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o and Get Out's Daniel Kaluuya, the superhero flick was bound to pull impressive audiences. Star Chadwick Boseman enjoyed his weekend at NBA All-Star Weekend, helping out Victor Oladipo pull off a Black Panther-themed dunk, mask and all, while the movie continued to rake in huge numbers. The Ryan Coogler-directed Marvel film made $192 million over its premiere weekend, and it is projected to end up at a four-day box office total of $218 million. These numbers have effectively beat out Deadpool to become the highest-grossing February release of all time.
Personally, I went to the movies this weekend and witnessed many filmgoers buying tickets to see BP. Even during the trailers leading up to Phantom Thread people walked into the theatre to ask if the screening was for Black Panther. Black Panther is now the second superhero film in history to gross an amount this large over opening weekend, trailing only The Avengers. Talk has been wild about the movie since it was announced, and it is exciting that it is finally here.
With a Kendrick Lamar-curated soundtrack, Black Panther has the music charts locked down with the album debuting at number 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. Audiences and critics alike are raving about the film, and I instantly regret not going to see it over the weekend... There's always tomorrow, I guess.
