For those of you who don’t know, the theatrical run of the pic came to an end last weekend, with the eighteenth Marvel Cinematic Universe film hauling in more than $700 million domestically, and approximately $1.34 billion worldwide. Although, the profound impact made by T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) and director Ryan Coogler is still reverberating throughout the industry.
During a sit-down with JOE.co.uk, two-time Academy Award winner Denzel Washington revealed that the success of Black Panther so moved him that he “shed a tear.” “Black Panther, I shed a tear. I was sitting in there — I ran into Chad and Ryan before the movie started, it was their premiere or the screening in New York, and just talking to them and they went into the movie — and the 40 years I’ve been in this game came back to me.”
Incredible: Black Panther Concept Art Takes Us Closer To T’Challa’s Cutting-Edge Suit
Washington then pointed to Sidney Poitier — the first African American actor to win the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1964 – without which a film like Black Panther would never be possible. “I said, ‘Man, look at these young boys, man.’ And I actually — I just started [crying]. I was like, whew. You know, Sidney, to now? And I’m in the gap — I and many others— are in the gap, but it was like, man. I felt like the third leg of the relay race. Like, ‘here, go.’ Now, I ran behind them — I’m still running. But I was like, man, they gone. They’re gone.”
The third movie ever to break the $700 million barrier domestically, behind only Avatar ($760M) and Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($936M), Black Panther will undoubtedly best be known for becoming the first African-American feature to earn more than $1 billion. That’s not to say it didn’t shatter another box office record or two along the way, though. As for the next time you can catch Chadwick Boseman in action – the cataclysmic conclusion of Avengers: Infinity War notwithstanding – we fully expect him to show up in some capacity during next year’s sequel, colloquially referred to as Avengers 4. And given the monumental success of T’Challa’s solo debut, Black Panther 2 does appear to be a foregone conclusion at this juncture. Yahoo
Pix: Black Panther
