Black Panther
, the latest movie from the Marvel universe is a bona fide smash hit. In fact, the four-day opening of Black Panther netted $242 million in ticket sales, according to a recent report from The Hollywood Reporter. Consequently, Black Panther is now the second-highest grossing film of all time when looking at 4-day openings.
With Black Panther hitting the $242 million mark, it just barely edged out Star Wars: The Last Jedi which netted $241 in ticket sales in its first four days in theaters. Not surprisingly, the best 4-day opening of all time is a Star Wars vehicle, with Star Wars: The Force Awakens having generated a whopping $288 billion in ticket sales during its first four days in the theater a few years ago.
While the figures above aren’t adjusted for inflation, the larger takeaway is that Black Panther is a raging success. And coupled with extremely positive reviews from both viewers and critics alike, it stands to reason that the film’s popularity will not wane in the coming days. If anything, as word of mouth continues to spread — not to mention repeat viewers — ticket sales may not see a huge drop off for quite some time.
The Hollywood Reporter adds that the film was enjoyed by a particularly diverse group of movie-goers. Indeed, the film has been heralded for its portrayal of both African Americans and women.
According to comScore, 37 percent of ticket buyers were African American. Caucasians made up the next largest group (35 percent), followed by Hispanics (18 percent). That sort of demographic breakdown is unheard of for an all-audience event film. On average, African Americans make up about 15 percent of the audience for superhero fare.
Females also turned out in force to see Black Panther, heralded for its portrayal of strong women, making up 45 percent of all ticket buyers (that share is usually 35 to 40 percent on a superhero movie’s opening weekend).
Incidentally, the film currently enjoys a 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
