Black Panther Has 2nd Highest Debut Ever
Walt Disney Studios/Marvel Studios’ Black Panther starring Chadwick Boseman, Lupita Nyong’o and Michael B. Jordan was even bigger than expected over the Presidents Day holiday earning $242.16 million over the four-day weekend (Feb. 16-19). It is nearly $7 million more than estimates. That makes it the second-largest four-day opening in history, second only to Star Wars: The Force Awakens with $288.1 million and just ahead of Star Wars: The Last Jedi with $241.5 million.
The result came thanks to an all-time record Monday, with the film taking in a whopping $40.15 million, beating out previous record-holder Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which took in $40.1 million on its opening Sunday. Overseas, Black Panther grossed $184.60 million in other countries over the four-day weekend, giving it a global total of $426.76 million to date.
Black Panther is the largest February opening ever surpassing Deadpool‘s $132 million by a wide margin and the fifth-highest three-day opening in history after Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Jurassic World and The Avengers.
The weekend’s two other new wide releases opened soft in the face of the Blank Panther. Aardman’s stop-motion animated Early Man earned $3.19 million through Sunday and $4.26 million through Monday for seventh place over the entire weekend, while Biblical action flim Samson finished out of the Top 10 in 11th place for both the three- and four-day weekend with $1.94 million and $2.26, respectively. Riding on a tidal wave of hype, Black Panther‘s allure was simply too strong for either film to carve out significant audiences of their own.
Peter Rabbit held up well in its second weekend, earning $17.51 million over the three-day period, which was down just 31 percent, and $23.38 million over four days holding onto second place. It has grossed $54.36 million through Monday – not bad given its reported budget of $50 million. It didn’t hurt that Early Man– its main competition in the family marketplace – failed to register with moviegoers.
The previous weekend’s first place Fifty Shades Freed, meanwhile, took in $17.31 million over the three-day period and $19.44 million over the four-day, a drop of 49.6 percent from its $38.56 million debut, to finish in third place. That brings its total to $78.63 million through Monday, about 12 percent below Fifty Shades Darker over the same period. At this pace, Fifty Shades Freed will easily cross the $100 million mark domestically by the end of its run.
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle logged its ninth Top 5 finish with $7.94 million through Sunday and $10.01 million through Monday for fourth place, bringing its total to $379.69 million. The film has surpassed Spider-Man 2 as the second highest-grossing Sony Pictures release of all time domestically not adjusted for inflation, and has the original Spider-Man, which grossed $403 million, in its sights.
Among other holdovers, The 15:17 to Paris finished in fifth place with $7.58 million through Sunday and $8.92 million through Monday, bringing its total so far to $26.67 million. In sixth place, The Greatest Showman made $5.03 million over the three-day weekend, a mere 21% drop, and $6.53 million over the four-day for a total of $155.91 million. Maze Runner: The Death Cure had a $2.60 million three-day total and took in $3.24 million over the four-day period for a total of $54.72 so far. Horror flick Winchester earned $2.21 million over three days and and $2.62 million over four with a $4.59 million total in ninth place. The Post rounded out the Top 10 with a $1.99 million three-day total and a $2.44 million four-day run for a gross so far of $22.25 million through Monday.
The top 10 films last weekend earned $323.00 million over the four-day weekend. That is 183.7 percent above the previous weekend’s three-day $113.82 million total. It is also 107.3 percent above the $155.78 million on the same four-day weekend last year, when The Lego Batman Movie led with $42.74 million for the second weekend. This year’s $267.36 three-day total is 51.8 percent above last year’s $128.87 million.
This Week | Last Week | Movie | Weekend Gross | Cumulative Gross | Weeks |
1 | New | Black Panther | $242.16M | $242.16M | 1 |
2 | 2 | Peter Rabbit | $23.38M | $54.36M | 2 |
3 | 1 | Fifty Shades Freed | $19.44M | $78.63M | 2 |
4 | 4 | Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle | $10.01M | $379.69M | 9 |
5 | 3 | The 15:17 to Paris | $8.92M | $26.67M | 2 |
6 | 5 | The Greatest Showman | $6.53M | $155.91M | 9 |
7 | New | Early Man | $4.26M | $4.26M | 1 |
8 | 6 | Maze Runner: The Death Cure | $3.24M | $54.72M | 4 |
9 | 7 | Winchester | $2.62M | $22.25M | 3 |
10 | 8 | The Post | $2.44M | $77.05M | 9 |
Editor-in-Chief Mark Heckathorn is a journalist, movie buff and foodie. He oversees DC on Heels editorial operations as well as strategic planning and staff development. Reach him with story ideas or suggestions at dcoheditor (at) gmail (dot) com.