Black Panther Becomes Highest-Grossing Solo Superhero Movie of All-Time

There's no stopping Wakanda. Black Panther shattered two more records over the weekend: it's now the highest-grossing superhero movie of all-time in the US, and the highest-grossing solo superhero movie of all-time worldwide. The Ryan Coogler film, starring Chadwick Boseman as the title character, has become the fifth highest-grossing film of all-time in the US, and the 12th highest-grossing film of all-time globally. For Disney, it's the third largest release worldwide in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Black Panther added an estimated $16.65 million (about Rs. 108 crores) in the US this past weekend, taking its domestic total to $630 million (about Rs. 4,088.7 crores) after six weeks, surpassing the total of the previous record holder, The Avengers ($623.3 million). Internationally, Marvel's latest picked up another $12.9 million (about Rs. 83.7 crores), pushing its international total to $606.4 million (about Rs. 3,935.5 crores). Put together, Black Panther has grossed $1.237 billion (about Rs. 8,028 crores) worldwide, beating the previous best set by Iron Man 3 ($1.214 billion).

Black Panther Is the King of Marvel Movies

It's been a fantastic performance for Black Panther since its mid-February release, beating expectations over and over. Having crossed Iron Man 3 in worldwide gross, it's now Marvel's third most successful film across the globe, next to The Avengers ($1.518 billion), and Avengers: Age of Ultron ($1.405 billion). Disney-Marvel couldn't have hoped for anything on this scale, and it's become the perfect marketing boost for the upcoming mega crossover, Avengers: Infinity War.

In comparison to other movies on the all-time grossing list, Black Panther's success has been tilted towards US audiences (51 percent), which makes sense since the film rests heavily on African-American culture. The Avengers made 41 percent of its total in the US, and 33.7 percent for Iron Man 3, which confirms that superhero ventures are more global plays. Of the top 50 worldwide, only three movies have earned more domestically than internationally: Black Panther, Rogue One (50.4 percent), and The Dark Knight (53.2 percent).