There’s big, and then there’s BIG. Capital ‘B’ Big. Paradigm-shifting big. Avengers big. Black Panther big.
Here’s a character that virtually nobody outside of dedicated comic gurus had ever heard of before. The few that had thought that he was a member of a militant black power movement that disbanded in the early 80s (that was certainly my first impression of the character). Sure, he was a big deal in Civil War — absolutely would have been that movie’s breakout character if Marvel hadn’t have gone and introduced Spider-Man at the same time — but nobody expected him to have this kind of a following when it came time for his own solo feature.
But a combination of smart marketing, well-curated talent and a little bit of that MCU magic that has never failed to deliver a hit transformed it from a February cash grab into the genuine cultural event of the season. It featured a nearly exclusively Black cast, with a Black director who has surged to the top of his field in only a few short years. It released in February, which had the two-fold benefit of tying in the Afro-Futurist film with Black History Month and gave it a cushy Valentine’s Day Weekend debut. The utter lack of competition from rival studios, the lucrative holiday opening, the rave reviews from both critics and audiences alike and the momentous timing of its release combined into an madcap debut at the US Box office.
After its utterly insane 4-day opening, Black Panther has scored an unprecedented $235 million dollar gross. I’ll say that again so it can sink in. Black Panther, previously an obscure comic book property that virtually nobody knew nor cared about, earned two hundred thirty-five million dollars in its opening weekend.
This is the largest opening weekend for any Marvel movie. This is the largest opening weekend for any superhero movie. If you ignore the fact that it actually opened on Valentine’s Day (giving an extra weekday to make bank for Marvel), it’s the fifth best opening of all time. And if you don’t, then it’s only out-grossed by The Force Awakens.
Keep in mind, initially this movie was only supposed to make $400 million dollars in the US over the course of its entire theatrical lifespan. Originally, it was only supposed to make half in its opening weekend of what it actually made. It made more in four days than Justice League did for the entire time that it was in theaters last year ($228 million). At this rate, it will easily make over a billion dollars at the global box office and God only knows how much domestically.
Before this weekend, Deadpool held the record for the highest February opening weekend at $132 million. Before that it was Fifty Shades of Grey with $85 million. Until very recently, January and February were seen as dumping grounds for terrible movies that movie studios couldn’t afford to release later in the year, where they would be easily beaten out by stronger competition. Black Panther, as well as other early-year blockbusters, prove that as long as the movie is good and has a smart marketing push, it doesn’t matter when your movie comes out: it’s still going to make money if people want to see it.
More than that, even, Black Panther is a lesson to filmmakers and film studios that moviegoers are in the market for movies that show off the broad range of Human experiences: not just those of middle class white dudes. Moonlight defeated La La Land for Best Picture. Get Out might do the same later this month. Wonder Woman was the only movie in the DCEU that audiences could even begin to care about. If these aren’t messages about the kinds of movies that people want, and are willing to pay, to see, I don’t know what is,