'Black Panther' box office tops 'Jurassic World,' and 'Titanic' is next
Black Panther crossed yet another box office record threshold this week, and it's now days away from reaching another.
Monday's ticket sale totals brought Black Panther's domestic earnings up to $652.5 million, just enough to make it the fourth-best box office earner in U.S. history. Jurassic World previously held that spot, with a domestic total of $652.3 million.
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The current pace of ticket sales also means that Black Panther is on the cusp of setting what will likely be its last major U.S. box office record. It's should only take a couple more day to pass $659.4 million, the domestic total for James Cameron's Titanic, currently #3 on the all-time U.S. chart.
There's no question at this point about Black Panther beating Titanic, it's merely a matter of when. There's a good chance it gets there sometime before the coming weekend, and the weekend will definitely push it over if not.
That's likely to be the end of Black Panther's impressive string of shattered domestic box office records. Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Avatar hold a commanding, effectively unbeatable lead of $936.7 million and $760.5 million in the #1 and #2 spots, respectively. Marvel's latest simply doesn't have enough time left in theaters to come close, especially with Avengers: Infinity War only a handful of weeks away.
Monday also marked another box office milestone for Black Panther. With combined earnings of $1.279 billion around the globe, it's now #10 on the all-time worldwide chart, pushing Disney's Frozen out of the top 10. Star Wars: The Last Jedi is next on that list — and likely to stay that way — with a total of $1.332 billion.
The real question now is: How will Black Panther's box office records fare once Infinity War arrives. Marvel's Avengers movies — plus Captain America: Civil War, which was basically an Avengers movie — have historically done the best with wide audiences. And Infinity War is poised to start capping off a story that extends all the way back to the beginnings of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Avengers: Infinity War hits theaters on April 27.
