'Black Panther' Is the Highest-Grossing Superhero Movie of All Time in the U.S., Surpassing $1 Billion at the Box Office

Krystin Arneson
Updated
'Black Panther' surpassed $1 billion at the box office this weekend, setting a major record along the way.

UPDATE: Saturday, March 24, 5:45 P.M.

The latest box office numbers indicate Black Panther has shattered yet another milestone: As of Saturday, it's now the top-grossing superhero film of all time in North America (not accounting for inflation), ousting 2012's The Avengers to take the title. Globally, it's taken in more than $1.2 billion to date.

According to Billboard, there's yet another record in store for the immensely popular film: By the end of Sunday, it's expected to become the third-biggest comic book adaptation, pushing past Ironman 3 to place just beneath The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Original Story:

It's been just 26 days since Black Panther was unleashed on American theaters, but on Saturday the film officially shattered a massive box-office record. Disney, which is behind the film, confirmed that it had surpassed $1 billion globally as of Friday, based on the company's ticket-sales estimate. But that's not all the movie's done: Black Panther set a few other major records during its ascent to the top—and, as HuffPo notes, "challenged the myth that films with predominantly black casts don't sell" in doing so.

"One by one, these unwritten Hollywood rules about what audiences supposedly will and will not support are falling by the wayside,” senior entertainment research analyst Jeff Bock told The New York Times in mid-February. “I think about it like a wall crumbling. In terms of ‘Black Panther,’ no studio can say again, ‘Oh, black movies don’t travel, overseas interest will be minimal.’”

As far as the rest of those records? Black Panther is now the ninth domestically highest-grossing film of all time and the fifth Marvel movie to break that $1 billion barrier. Even more impressively, it's the second-largest superhero release of all time, breezing past The Dark Knight. And there's more to come for the film: It just opened in China, the world's second-largest movie market, on Friday, taking in $22.7 million on day one.

For those thirsty for a Black Panther sequel: Don't worry—it's definitely coming. Marvel Studios' president confirmed it in an interview with Entertainment Weekly on Friday. A second trip to Wakanda? It's almost too good to be true.

This story has been updated.

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