In case you haven’t heard, the film Black Panther has officially passed the $1 billion-dollar mark globally. What’s even more noteworthy is that the film made this amount in only 26 days. Black Panther is the 33rd movie to earn $1 billion in the U.S., making it Disney’s 16th film as well as the fifth Marvel installment to do so. Much of the film’s boost in earnings to push it over $1 billion came from its opening in China. Reportedly, China contributed $22 million to Black Panther on it’s opening day in the country. Since its release in February, Black Panther has broken many records at the box office and changed the narrative regarding films with a predominately Black cast. The film has a majority Black cast, with all Black lead actors and actresses and a Black director. During its four-day opening weekend, Black Panther reportedly made a gross revenue of “$242 million domestically, and $427 million worldwide” (Desta, 2018, para. 4). The projected amount for the four-day opening weekend that the film was supposed to make was reportedly set around $120 to $150 million. Ultimately, the success of this latest Marvel movie shows that Black films can do well overseas, which was a myth that’s been going around in Hollywood for some time, and that movies with more diverse casts will sell if written, produced, and promoted correctly. One could say that Black Panther’s connection to Disney and the Marvel comic book universe is what made the film very successful. However, a counterargument could be that a connection to a large franchise won’t guarantee success. China’s appreciation of the movie certainly proves that Black Panther does in fact have mass appeal. References Desta, Y. (2018, March 11). Black Panther Is Officially a $1 Billion Hit. Retrieved March 12, 2018, from https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/em-black-panther-em-officially-202946007.html
