‘Black Panther’ is still king at the box office
‘Sparrow,’ ‘Death Wish’ lag far behind blockbuster
LOS ANGELES – Wakanda’s reign over America shows no signs of waning: Black Panther is king of the box office for the third straight weekend.
Studio estimates Sunday show the Marvel movie brought in $65.7 million this weekend, easily outpacing new releases Red Sparrow and Death Wish.
Black Panther has now grossed
$500 million domestically after three weeks of release.
It’s the third-fastest film to reach the
$500 million plateau.
“Disney is clearly on a roll, with Black Panther showing incredible strength as it posts the third-biggest third-weekend gross of all time,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for comScore, “and most notably becomes the 10th-highest-grossing movie of all time in North America after just 17 days in theaters.”
Fox’s Red Sparrow, featuring Jennifer Lawrence as a Russian ballerinaturned-super-spy, earned $17 million in its first weekend.
Death Wish, MGM’s reboot of the Charles Bronson action franchise starring Bruce Willis, was third with $13 million.
“Both newcomers performed to expectations but had to compete in a marketplace totally dominated by Black Panther,” Dergarabedian said.
Game Night ($10.7 million) and Peter Rabbit ($10 million) rounded out the top five.
Black Panther, directed by Ryan Coo- gler and starring Chadwick Boseman and Michael B. Jordan, has become a groundbreaking cinematic phenomenon, giving unprecedented representation for a film of its kind to black characters while winning over every corner of the culture.
It should soon shoot past the billiondollar mark worldwide.
Wakanda’s king may finally be knocked from his box office throne next weekend with the release of director Ava DuVernay’s A Wrinkle in Time, another Disney film that gives groundbreaking representation to AfricanAmericans on both sides of the camera.
“Disney wins no matter how you slice it, with that film expected to have a strong debut as Black Panther continues to draw big crowds,” Dergarabedian said.
Final figures will be released Monday.