Black Panther Explodes to a $192+ Million Opening – Weekly Box Office Report

Every analyst predicted that Black Panther would come away with the number one spot at the box office this weekend, but very few speculated that it would perform this well.  And with many people off work for President’s Day, the film’s absurd tally is just the beginning.

Here are the weekend estimates:

#5: The 15:17 to Paris – $7.69 Million

Despite a critical drubbing as well as a lukewarm response from audiences in its first weekend, The 15:17 to Paris had a respectable drop of 38.8% to remain in the top five.  While the film undoubtedly received some overflow traffic from sold out Black Panther screenings, the film points to the fact that there is always audience for harrowing true stories.

Overall, The 15:17 to Paris has made back its $30 million production budget with a $36+ million worldwide gross thus far, but it definitely has work to do to become profitable for Warner Bros. and earn back its marketing costs.

*To read my full review of The 15:17 to Paris, please click here.

image via The New Yorker

#4: Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle – $7.95 Million

Jumanji keeps chugging along with another weekend in the top five (it’s been in the top five for nine straight weeks).  With another solid total, the film passed the $900 million mark worldwide.  While the film is all but locked into the fifth spot in the highest grossing movies of 2017, it still has a chance to beat out Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 in terms of domestic box office.  Currently, Jumanji is only $12 million behind Guardians 2, and it should close that gap in the coming days.

*To read my full review of Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, please click here.

image via The Verge

#3: Fifty Shades Freed – $16.94 Million

With terrible reviews that rival the previous two installments in the franchise, Fifty Shades Freed dropped 56.1%, showing that most people who wanted to see the movie saw it in its first weekend and didn’t bother seeing it again.

The film has made a solid $76.1 million in the United States, but the real victory has been in overseas markets.  Fifty Shades Freed has pulled in over $190 million from those same overseas markets for a near $267 million overall total thus far in its theatrical run.  With a $55 million production budget, Universal Studios employees are already pleased.

*To read my full review of Fifty Shades Freed, please click here.

image via The New York Times

#2: Peter Rabbit – $17.25 Million

Peter Rabbit took away most of Early Man‘s business this weekend as the main animated attraction in theaters.  With a 31% drop this weekend, signs are pointing towards an extended theatrical run for the animated feature that continues into March, especially due to the fact that the film hasn’t even premiered in the U.K. where it’s sure to perform well.

Already coming close to earning back its production budget, Peter Rabbit is going to become a slow burn at the box office that eventually pays dividends for Sony and its growing animation arm.

image via NBC News

#1: Black Panther – $192.02 Million

The eighteenth film in the MCU had the fifth largest domestic opening of all-time, powering to another success for Disney and Marvel.  With an “A+” CinemaScore, Black Panther is the second highest opening in the MCU, falling only to The Avengers which earned $207.4 million in its first weekend.  Naturally, the film is also the highest February opening of all-time and the best President’s day weekend without even factoring in results for Monday.  As of now, Disney has eight of the ten biggest openings ever.

Internationally, Black Panther added $169 million for a worldwide gross of $361 million so far.  The superhero flick performed well in South Korea (where the massive chase sequence in the film takes place), earning $25.3 million.  Black Panther has yet to open in China or Japan, and it won’t release in those territories until March.

Even better, Black Panther‘s success should continue into President’s Day where many individuals with be out of school and off of work.  Estimates call for the film to earn around $30 million on Monday.  However, the film has the potential to earn much more with its fantastic word of mouth and cultural impact.

Hype for the film came to a boil at just the right time.  Now, Black Panther is a phenomenon.

*To read my full review of Black Panther, please click here.

image via The New York Times

Notes

-Here’s the rest of the top 10:

#6: The Greatest Showman – $5.1 Million

#7: Early Man – $3.15 Million

#8: Maze Runner: The Death Cure – $2.53 Million

#9: Winchester – $2.23 Million

#10: Samson – $1.97 Million

-While Black Panther came away with an absurd $47,767 average per screen, second place went to The Party which earned about $12,111 per screen.

image via The Vulture

-While Monster Hunt 2 released in only 69 theaters stateside for a total gross of $335,000.  However, the sequel took in $85 million in China on its opening day en route to a comparable opening weekend to Black Panther in the country.

-Look out for Game Night, Annihilation, and Every Day this coming weekend as they look to challenge Black Panther for the top spot.  Too bad all of them will probably fail in that pursuit!

*Update: estimates for Black Panther’s three-day gross are now at $201.7 million as of 9:35 p.m. EST

Thanks for reading!  What are your thoughts on Black Panther and the rest of the box office?  Comment down below!

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