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*It’s getting to the point that we just pretty much expect “Black Panther” to be on top of the charts at the box office “forever” and that expectation was borne out again this weekend.
Here’s the deal. “Black Panther” is now the first film since “Avatar” in 2010 to take the No. 1 spot at the box office for five consecutive weeks, earning $27 million this weekend to pass the $600 million mark domestically, according to TheWrap.
With a total of $605 million, the film will pass the $623 million made by “The Avengers” sometime this week, making it the top superhero movie on the domestic charts. At 31 days, it’s the second-fastest film to gross $600 million domestically, sitting only behind “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”
Overseas, the film is approaching the $100 million mark in China with a $96 million total after 10 days, giving it a $577 million international haul and a $1.18 billion global total. That puts it past the $1.15 billion made by “Captain America: Civil War” two years ago and places it in the top 15 on the all-time global charts. Next on the list is “Iron Man 3” with $1.21 billion.
OK, so who’s the “loser” in second place, you ask? Why, that would be Warner Bros./MGM’s “Tomb Raider,” opening to $23.5 million from 3,854 screens.
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With a $90 million budget and mediocre critical reception — 50 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and a B on CinemaScore — “Tomb Raider” will need help from overseas markets to turn enough of a profit to keep the franchise going. So far, it’s getting that help with $84.5 million from 65 markets this weekend and is highest internationally among all films. China leads the way with $41.1 million, putting it in WB’s top 10 highest openings in that market. The film now has a global total of $126 million, with a release in Japan coming this Wednesday.
In third place is Roadside Attractions/Lionsgate’s faith-based film “I Can Only Imagine,” taking in an impressive $17 million from 1,620 screens.
The $7 million film had been projected by trackers to make $5-6 million, but has earned huge word of mouth among Christian audiences with an A+ on CinemaScore.
The strong opening puts it ahead of Disney’s “A Wrinkle in Time,” which saw a 50 percent drop-off of its $33 million opening for a second weekend total of $16.6 million and a 10-day total of $61 million.
And wrapping up the this weekend’s top 5 box office films is “Love, Simon” which met industry expectations with $11.5 million. Like “I Can Only Imagine,” the teen gay rom-com was a huge hit with its core audience and scored an A+ on CinemaScore; but it has also earned critical acclaim with a 90 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes.
You can get the rest of the box office breakdown at TheWrap.
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