‘Black Panther’ rules box office again
Movie has one of best 2nd weekends with $108M
NEW YORK — “Black Panther” scored one of the best second weekends ever with an estimated $108 million in ticket sales, on track to rank among the highest-grossing blockbusters ever.
Ryan Coogler’s Marvel sensation is on a box-office course that few films have managed, according to studio estimates Sunday. It’s only the fourth film to earn $100million in its second weekend, along with “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” ($149.2 million), “Jurassic World” ($106.6 million) and “The Avengers” ($103.1 million).
Only “The Force Awakens” had a better second weekend than “Black Panther,” which dropped 47 percent after its opening weekend of $201.8 million.
“Black Panther” has grossed $400 million domestically and $704 million worldwide in two weeks. The film, starring Chadwick Boseman and Michael B. Jordan, has held even better overseas, where it dropped 42 percent this weekend. Its release in China, the world’s secondlargest film market, is set for March 9.
So far, it’s in the company of “Jurassic World,” which grossed $1.67 billion worldwide, and “The Avengers,” which hauled in $1.52 billion. Both rank among the top five of all time, not accounting for inflation.
“Black Panther” is spurring an industry surge. The overall box office is up 12.5 percent from last year, according to comScore.
The film’s success didn’t appear to hurt the handful of new releases.
Faring the best was “Game Night,” with Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams, from Warner Bros.’ New Line. The comedy, which cost about $37 million to make, debuted with $16.6 million, coming in slightly above forecasts.