Ryan Coogler’s ‘Black Panther’ zooms past ‘Titanic’ box office record

AFP | “Black Panther” broke more records over the weekend in North America, exceeding revenues from the 1997 blockbuster “Titanic” while horror thriller “A Quiet Place,” with barely three minutes of dialog, made a resounding US$50.2 million debut.

In third was another new release, Universal’s “Blockers,” at US$20.6 million.

Still flourishing in its 8th week out, “Black Panther” netted US$8.7 million. Its cumulative total in the US and Canada now exceeds US$665.6 million.

That number takes the film past “Titanic,” which had collected US$659 million in North America. “Black Panther” is now 3rd in movie ticket sales of all time on the continent.

“Avatar” (2009) and “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” (2015) are still ahead, with US$760 million and US$936.7 million in ticket sales respectively.

In terms of global sales, “Avatar” leads with US$2.8 billion, followed by “Titanic” (US$2.2 billion), both directed by James Cameron. “Black Panther” is only 10th worldwide.

In North America, the weekend’s 5th spot went to psychological thriller “Tyler Perry’s Acrimony” with US$8.4 million.