Disney-Marvel will be popping Champagne over the weekend. “Black Panther” becomes the 3rd biggest box office movie in US history, passing “Titanic.” That’s as far as it will get on the all time chart because number 2 — “Avatar” — is $100 million away.
Still, it’s quite a stunning achievement for director Ryan Coogler and everyone involved in “Black Panther.” It was the rare box office phenom, exceeding every expectation and tapping all kinds of demographic audiences.
Worldwide including the US, “BP” will finish north of $1.3 billion. No sequel will ever top it, although I’m sure when the next installment is released that’s all everyone will talk about. Coogler can savor this achievement.
It’s also important to point out that this week, three of the top ten movies were made by black directors. In addition to “BP,” there’s “Acrimony” from Tyler Perry and “A Wrinkle in Time” from Ava DuVernay. The world is finally changing, just slowly.
As for “BP,” it will be interesting to see how the cast is compensated for all these milestones– like, right now, not some time in the future, and what they’ll be paid going forward.
