The year has not ended, and several movies will be released between now and Dec. 31. However, “Black Panther” is too far ahead in the box-office race for any other film to catch it. The film, based on one of the Marvel Comics lineup of characters, was released on Feb. 16. By the time it had finished its run in U.S. theaters, on Aug. 9, it had brought in just over $700 million.
The $700 million take puts “Black Panther” third among all films based on domestic gross, behind “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” released in 2015, which had total U.S. ticket sales of $937 million, and “Avatar,” released in 2009, which grossed $761 million. “Black Panther” also grossed $647 million in foreign markets for a global total of $1.347 billion.
In some ways, the success of “Black Panther” is improbable. Created by Marvel founder and creative genius Stan Lee who died last month, the chief of the fictional African country Wakanda first appeared in a Marvel Comic in 1966, as part of the Fantastic Four. Black Panther’s given name is T’Challa. The character has never come close to the popularity of much more well-known superheroes such as Superman, Batman, Captain America, or The Hulk, all of whom starred in several movies each. Chadwick Boseman, who played Black Panther, is not a widely known actor.
No single explanation of the movie’s success has been adequate. Rotten Tomatoes, which tracks the opinions of critics and audiences, gave “Black Panther” a 97% Freshness rating based on opinions of 439 critics. It did not do has well in the audience rating category as 79% of viewers liked it based on comments from 84,057 viewers. Metacritic, another movie rating site, gave “Black Panther” a rating of 88 based on opinions of 55 critics.
One reason given for the success is the money Walt Disney, the film’s producer and distributor, put into the film. Estimates have put the production budget as high as $200 million and the marketing budget as high as $150 million.
The Guardian took a broader view, “The film has proven once again that not only do diverse audiences want diverse stories, but that movies and television shows that feature people of color often perform better across all racial groups than predominantly white stories.”
The success of “Black Panther” is not nearly over. It will almost certainly find its way to movie channels like HBO and streaming services like Amazon Prime. And, if the Marvel movie hit formula shows anything it is that the number of Black Panther movies will not end at one.
Top Grossing Movies of 2018
| Rank | Movie | Total gross | Opening gross |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Black Panther | $700,059,566 | $202,003,951 |
| 2 | Avengers: Infinity War | $678,815,482 | $257,698,183 |
| 3 | Incredibles 2 | $608,581,744 | $182,687,905 |
| 4 | Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom | $416,769,345 | $148,024,610 |
| 5 | Deadpool 2 | $318,491,426 | $125,507,153 |
| 6 | Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch (2018) | $253,218,975 | $67,572,855 |
| 7 | Mission: Impossible – Fallout | $220,159,104 | $61,236,534 |
| 8 | Ant-Man and the Wasp | $216,648,740 | $75,812,205 |
| 9 | Solo: A Star Wars Story | $213,767,512 | $84,420,489 |
| 10 | Venom (2018) | $213,030,843 | $80,255,756 |
| 11 | A Star is Born (2018) | $200,066,727 | $42,908,051 |
| 12 | A Quiet Place | $188,024,361 | $50,203,562 |
| 13 | Bohemian Rhapsody | $184,686,798 | $51,061,119 |
| 14 | Crazy Rich Asians | $174,016,156 | $26,510,140 |
| 15 | Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation | $167,510,016 | $44,076,225 |
| 16 | Ralph Breaks the Internet | $162,093,930 | $56,237,634 |
| 17 | Halloween (2018) | $159,312,200 | $76,221,545 |
| 18 | Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald | $154,494,713 | $62,163,104 |
| 19 | The Meg | $145,443,742 | $45,402,195 |
| 20 | Ocean’s 8 | $140,218,711 | $41,607,378 |
Data are from Box Office Mojo as Dec. 24
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