Disney‘s surprise megahit “Black Panther” continued to climb to new heights this week, earning a place in the top 10 movies of all time.
The box-office haul for the superhero flick rose to $1.28 billion worldwide through Monday. That was enough to knock Disney’s animated musical “Frozen” — itself a cultural phenomenon — out of the top 10.
“Black Panther” also surpassed Universal’s “Jurassic World” to become the fourth highest-earning movie ever at U.S. theaters. Its domestic sales now stand at $652.5 million, just barely edging out the earnings for the “Jurassic Park” sequel.
“Yet another milestone for Disney/Marvel’s ‘Black Panther’ as the blockbuster superhero hit continues to climb the global box office chart at a breakneck pace and takes its rightful place in the rarefied air of the top 10 earners of all-time in theaters worldwide,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at comScore.
The movie from Disney-owned Marvel Studios follows the exploits of T’Challa, the king and guardian of a highly advanced fictional African country. “Black Panther” is the first of Marvel’s 18 interconnected films to feature an African-American leading man, Chadwick Boseman, and a majority black cast.
The film has shattered conventional wisdom among Hollywood gatekeepers that superhero blockbusters have to be anchored by white male leads.
Disney won’t have to wait long to leverage the massive appeal of “Black Panther.” The character will return in this month’s “Avengers: Infinity War.”
