Black Panther will pass two major milestones this weekend. First, possibly as soon as tomorrow, it will top the $623 million domestic total of The Avengers by Sunday night. That will mean, unadjusted for inflation, that Ryan Coogler and John Robert Cole’s MCU superhero flick will be the highest-grossing comic book superhero movie ever in North America. And then, probably today (it had $1.207 billion as of yesterday, including $100m in China), the Chadwick Boseman flick will pass the $1.215b global gross of Iron Man 3, thus making Black Panther the biggest solo superhero flick ever worldwide and making Chadwick Boseman (wait for it…) Earth’s Mightiest Hero! (cue “Fight as One.”)
Yes, in terms of tickets sold, Black Panther will be behind Spider-Man ($637 million adjusted for inflation), The Dark Knight ($688m adjusted) and The Avengers ($706m adjusted). But T’Challa is sure to pass Spidey and may (emphasis on “may”) pass Bruce Wayne’s sequel installment as well. I still think $700m+ is a bridge too far, but A) at this point anything is possible and B) if Uprising and Ready Player One don’t connect, then Black Panther has clear sailing until Rampage on April 13 and Avengers: Infinity War on April 27.
Yes, it is likely that Black Panther will still be playing in a number of theaters by the time Infinity War opens, so plan your double-features accordingly. Not only is Black Panther a huge hit, but it also positions its lead character and its supporting cast to essentially take over the MCU in the aftermath of Avengers: Infinity War and next summer’s fourth Avengers flick. (Yahoo)
