‘Black Panther’s still the cat to beat
NEW YORK – Not since Avatar has a box office hit had the kind of 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 box office five straight weekends.
The Disney release grossed $27 million, according to studio estimates, pushing its domestic haul to $605.4 million. Worldwide, Black Panther has grossed more than $1.1 billion.
That left second place to the rebooted Tomb Raider, starring Alicia Vikander as the archaeologist adventurer Lara Croft. The $90 million film opened with $23.5 million, failing to stir much excitement.
Last week, Black Panther even bested Disney’s own A Wrinkle in Time, Ava DuVernay’s adaptation of Madeleine L’Engle’s 1962 novel, starring Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon and Mindy Kaling. In its second week, Wrinkle fell to fourth place, dropping 50% with $16.6 million.
The surprise of the weekend was the Christian drama I Can Only Imagine, which blew away expectations to open third with $17.1 million on 1,629 screens — fewer 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 Bart Millard, the MercyMe singer behind the Christian hit.
Playing to a virtually opposite audience was gay teen romance Love, Simon, starring Nick Robinson, the first film from a major Hollywood studio featuring a gay teen protagonist, which thrived mainly in urban areas. It made its debut in fifth place with $11.5 million.
Final figures are expected Monday.