NEW YORK 鈥� 鈥淏lack Panther鈥� scored one of the best second weekends ever with an estimated $108 million in ticket sales, putting it on track to rank among the highest-grossing blockbusters ever.
Ryan Coogler鈥檚 Marvel sensation is on a box-office course that few films have managed, according to studio estimates Sunday. It is only the fourth film to earn $100 million in its second weekend, along with 鈥淪tar Wars: The Force Awakens鈥� ($149.2 million), 鈥淛urassic World鈥� ($106.6 million) and 鈥淭he Avengers鈥� ($103.1 million).
Only 鈥淭he Force Awakens鈥� had a better second weekend than 鈥淏lack Panther,鈥� which dropped 47 per cent after its opening weekend of $201.8 million.
鈥淏lack Panther鈥� has grossed $400 million domestically and $704 million worldwide in two weeks. The film, starring Chadwick Boseman and Michael B. Jordan, has held even better overseas, where it dropped 42 per cent this weekend. Its release in China, the world鈥檚 second-largest film market, is set for March 9.
鈥淲hatever your projections for 鈥橞lack Panther鈥� might be, just increase them by 20 per cent and you might be on point,鈥� said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for comScore. 鈥淣ow the question isn鈥檛 so much if it gets to $1 billion, but how far beyond that number does it go.鈥�
The results so far put it in the company of 鈥淛urassic World,鈥� which ended up grossing $1.67 billion worldwide, and 鈥淭he Avengers,鈥� which ultimately hauled in $1.52 billion. Both rank among the top five of all time, not accounting for inflation.
鈥淏lack Panther鈥� is spurring a surge for the industry. The overall box office is up 12.5 per cent from last year, according to comScore.
And the movie is doing it with an especially diverse audience. This weekend鈥檚 audience was 33 per cent African-American, 37 per cent Caucasian, 18 per cent Hispanic and 7 per cent Asian, according to comScore.
The film鈥檚 success didn鈥檛 appear to hurt the handful of new releases.
Faring the best was 鈥淕ame Night,鈥� starring Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams, from Warner Bros.鈥� New Line. The comedy, which cost about $37 million to make and was directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, debuted with $16.6 million, coming in slightly above forecasts.
Though comedies have struggled at the box office in recent years, 鈥淕ame Night鈥� got a modest boost from good reviews and perhaps from the waves of moviegoers brought in by 鈥淏lack Panther.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 that whole 鈥檃 rising tide floats all boats,鈥濃�� said Jeff Goldstein, distribution head for Warner Bros.
鈥淭he whole (comedy) genre is just really troubled,鈥� he added. 鈥淣ew Line is, I think, particularly good at teasing these movies out to be the best versions of them. They鈥檝e had a lot of success in the past, whether it be 鈥橦orrible Bosses鈥� or 鈥楥entral Intelligence.鈥� 鈥�
Alex Garland鈥檚 sci-fi thriller 鈥淎nnihilation,鈥� starring Natalie Portman, also debuted with some momentum thanks to strong reviews. It opened with $11 million on about 2,000 screens (or about half the number of 鈥淏lack Panther鈥�).
Paramount earlier sold the film鈥檚 international rights (except in China) to Netflix after disappointing reactions in test screenings. Opening weekend audiences largely responded similarly, giving the film a poor C CinemaScore.
It鈥檚 not uncommon for studios to offload international rights to recoup their costs. But selling an ambitious film from Garland, writer-director of 2015鈥檚 acclaimed 鈥淓x Machina,鈥� to Netflix was seen by some as a sign of diminishing aspirations for a Hollywood major studio.
But Paramount has been behind some of the more artistically audacious releases in recent years, including Darren Aronofsky鈥檚 鈥渕other!,鈥� Alexander Payne鈥檚 鈥淒ownsizing鈥� and Martin Scorsese鈥檚 鈥淪ilence.鈥�
鈥淎nnihilation,鈥� an unusually challenging and psychedelic sci-fi release for a major studio, cost about $40 million to produce. It鈥檚 among the last releases green-lit by previous Paramount head Brad Grey. Jim Gianopulos took over as chief executive and chairman last year, and he is pushing a more franchise-focused agenda.
Kyle Davies, Paramount鈥檚 domestic distribution chief, declined to comment on the Netflix deal but said he was pleased with the film鈥檚 performance.
鈥淎lex is a very talented filmmaker, and he鈥檚 created this mind-bending experience,鈥� Davies said. 鈥淎nd I think there鈥檚 going to be a lot of chatter and a lot of buzz that will propel the movie into the spring moviegoing season.鈥�
Also opening was the micro-budget young adult romance 鈥淓very Day,鈥� the first release from Metro Goldwyn Mayer鈥檚 rebooted Orion Pictures. The film, which cost less than $5 million to make, debuted with $3.1 million in ticket sales.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to comScore. Where available, the latest international numbers also are included. Final three-day domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. 鈥淏lack Panther,鈥� $108 million ($83.8 million international).
2. 鈥淕ame Night,鈥� $16.6 million ($5.2 million international).
3. 鈥淧eter Rabbit,鈥� $12.5 million.
4. 鈥淎nnihilation,鈥� $11 million.
5. 鈥淔ifty Shades Freed,鈥� $6.9 million ($22.3 million international).
6. 鈥淛umanji: Welcome to the Jungle,鈥� $5.7 million ($3 million international).
7. 鈥淭he 15:17 to Paris,鈥� $3.6 million ($1.3 million international).
8. 鈥淭he Greatest Showman,鈥� $3.4 million ($7.7 million international).
9. 鈥淓very Day,鈥� $3.1 million.
10. 鈥淢ET Opera: La Boheme,鈥� $1.9 million.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international theatres (excluding the U.S. and sa国际传媒), according to comScore:
1. 鈥淥peration Red Sea,鈥� $107 million.
2. 鈥淏lack Panther,鈥� $83.8 million.
3. 鈥淒etective Chinatown 2,鈥� $80 million.
4. 鈥淢onster Hunt 2,鈥� $33.5 million.
5. 鈥淔ifty Shades Freed,鈥� $22.3 million.
6. 鈥淏oonie Bears: The Big Shrink,鈥� $12.7 million.
7. 鈥淭he Shape of Water,鈥� $11.6 million.
8. 鈥淭he Greatest Showman,鈥� $7.7 million.
9. 鈥淢onkey King 3: The Kingdom of Women,鈥� $7.6 million.
10. 鈥淢aze Runner: The Death Cure,鈥� $7.1 million.
