'Black Panther' open smashes box office records

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Disney-Marvel’s “Black Panther” had a super-heroic opening weekend, bringing in a massive 361 million US dollars around the world.

As it stands, “Black Panther” is only screening in 69 percent of the international market. In the coming weeks, it will open in China – the world's largest box office – Russia and Japan.

"Black Panther" movie /Marvel Entertainment

The eagerly anticipated film, with an estimated 200-million-US-dollar production budget, not only shattered expectations, it broke multiple box office records, too.

It demolished the record for the largest Presidents' Day weekend, blowing past “Deadpool's” 2016 mark of 152 million US dollars.

"Black Panther" movie /Marvel Entertainment

“Black Panther” was the fifth biggest opening of all time, and blew away the record for the largest opening for an African-American director, Ryan Coogler. The previous record belonged to F. Gary Gray and "The Fate of the Furious," which opened to 98 million US dollars last April.

“Black Panther” has become a must-see for many moviegoers, underlined when Thursday's previews brought in 25.2 million US dollars, the largest Thursday night preview gross for a February opener and the second-largest preview gross for a Marvel film.

"Black Panther" movie /Marvel Entertainment

Comscore’s PostTrak survey of the audience after screening “Black Panther” showed outstanding numbers, with 77 percent rating “Black Panther” as “excellent” and another 18 percent as “very good.”

“Black Panther” tells the story of King T‘Challa, played by Chadwick Boseman. He is the ruler of Wakanda, a technologically advanced society, who is in conflict with Michael B. Jordan’s Eric Killmonger, who intends to take over the throne. The films star-studded cast includes Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong‘o, Angela Bassett, Danai Gurira and Daniel Kaluuya.

"Black Panther" movie /Marvel Entertainment

“Black Panther” received an A+ CinemaScore, the only Marvel film to have done so besides 2012’s “The Avengers.” It also got a nearly perfect 97 percent on review site Rotten Tomatoes.

(with inputs from the wires)