Black Panther Has Highest-Grossing First Week in MCU History

Black Panther has broken yet another MCU record, beating The Avengers for the best first week at the box office in the shared universe. Keeping tabs on every record Black Panther has broken is turning into a daunting task, as Marvel’s first movie of 2018 keeps hitting new milestones. While Avengers: Infinity War will be the film to beat this year, Black Panther may just end up in second place when the dust settles. And just from what it’s pulled in so far, it’s already pushed the MCU to $14 billion globally.


Though competition from Annihilation and Game Night will emerge this weekend, estimates have Black Panther adding another $80–100 million to its total at the domestic box office. Already, the film is poised to head into the weekend on good terms as Black Panther has passed $500 million worldwide. Thanks to those numbers, it’s racing towards one of the best totals for any superhero movie and will settle near the top of the MCU. In fact, Marvel’s biggest film may have a challenger for the throne as Black Panther may beat The Avengers.


Variety is reporting that thanks to Thursday’s numbers, Black Panther now has the best first week of any MCU film. Thanks to yesterday’s numbers, Black Panther sits at $292M in North America. With that total, it’s now well past the $270M The Avengers earned in its first 7 days.


Black Panther added another $14.3 million yesterday, once again beating The Avengers for a day of the week. The film has claimed the top MCU spot for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday so far, and its Thursday hauls sits $2M above what The Avengers made in 2012. Black Panther has also managed $228M internationally, giving it a total of $520M as of today. Even with a steep drop-off in its second week, the film seems destined to pass the coveted $1 billion mark.


More than just a movie praised by audiences and critics, Black Panther has become a cultural phenomenon. Though a relatively obscure character out of comic circles before Captain America: Civil War, Black Panther’s first solo film opened bigger than any MCU film not featuring Tony Stark. From its outstanding cast and crew to its unique look and setting to the representation it’s given marginalized groups, it’s clear that audiences the world over can’t get enough of Wakanda.


Marvel is happy to pounce on the film’s success, as Black Panther will get the MCU’s biggest toy line for a non-sequel. Already, stores can’t keep the merchandise on the shelves and Marvel is expanding beyond toys and games to active wear and fashion accessories. To be sure, the work costume designer Ruth E. Carter did on Black Panther has helped as much as anything to rocket it into the zeitgeist. And with the film’s visibility clearly not fading, expect Black Panther to break a few more records soon.