IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Of course, the continuing success of “Black Panther” also didn’t help “Tomb Raider.” When release dates were being set a year ago, few could have foreseen “Black Panther” no. 1 five weeks in. “How could you?” Goldstein said.

“Black Panther” has shown considerably fewer legs in China, however. Though it has grossed $96 million in two weeks of release in China, “Black Panther” slid steeply in its second weekend.

Yet last week, “Black Panther” even bested Disney’s own “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.

The surprise of the weekend was the Lionsgate-Roadside Attractions Christian drama “I Can Only Imagine,” which grossed $17.1 million on 1,629 screens — less than half the number that “Black Panther,” “Tomb Raider” and “A Winkle in Time” played on. The film, which co-stars Dennis Quaid and Cloris Leachman, cost only $7 million to make. It stars J. Michael Finley as the singer behind one of the most popular Christian songs, by the band Mercy Me.

“I Can Only Imagine” doubled expectations by sticking to the typical tactic of “faith-based” releases with a grassroots marketing effort that focused on Southern, Southwestern and suburban moviegoers. Eighty percent of the audience was over 35.

Ilze Kitshoff / Associated Press Daniel Wu, left, and Alicia Vikander in a scene from “Tomb Raider,” which finished behind “Black Panther.”