‘Panther’ is No. 1 for 5th straight weekend

NEW YORK — Not since “Avatar” has a box-office hit had the staying power of “Black Panther.” Ryan Coogler’s comic-book sensation on Sunday became the first film since James Cameron’s 2009 smash to top the weekend box office five straight weekends.

The Disney release grossed $27 million in ticket sales over the weekend, according to studio estimates, pushing its domestic haul to $605.4 million. Worldwide, “Black Panther” has grossed more than $1.1 billion.

Though “Black Panther” has had little competition to contend with throughout February and March, such consistency is especially rare in today’s movie-going world. Before “Avatar,” the last film to do it was 1999’s “The Sixth Sense.”

That left second place to the MGM-Warner Bros.’ rebooted “Tomb Raider,” starring Alicia Vikander (stepping in for Angelina Jolie) as archaeologist adventurer Lara Croft. The $90 million film opened with $23.5 million, largely failing to stir much excitement among moviegoers. Critics gave it 49 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and ticket-buyers gave it a B CinemaScore.

The 2001 original opened $47.7 million and grossed $274.7 million worldwide, but the big-budget 2003 sequel flopped, opening with $21.8 million domestically and grossing $156.5 million worldwide.

Last week, “Black Panther” bested Disney’s “A Wrinkle in Time,” Ava DuVernay’s adaptation of Madeleine L’Engle’s 1962 novel of the same name. In its second week, “A Wrinkle in Time” dropped 50 percent with $16.6 million in ticket sales.