Black Panther easily fends off Red Sparrow and Death Wish at the box office
Black Panther has done it again. Disney’s latest Marvel blockbuster is on track to collect an estimated $65.7 million from 4,084 theaters in the U.S. and Canada this weekend, clobbering newcomers Red Sparrow and Death Wish while scoring the third best third weekend of all time (behind Star Wars: the Force Awakens and Avatar).
That figure would bring the Ryan Coogler-directed superhero tale to a $501.1 million domestic total after 17 days in theaters, a sum that ranks 10th all time (not adjusted for inflation) and puts it ahead of every other Marvel movie save 2012’s The Avengers.
Black Panther has also grossed about $396.6 overseas, including an estimated $56.2 million this weekend, putting its worldwide total on the doorstep of $900 million.
Marking the 18th installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Black Panther stars Chadwick Boseman as the titular superhero, a.k.a. T’Challa, who rules and protects the secretive, technologically advanced nation of Wakanda. The ensemble cast also includes Michael B. Jordan, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Andy Serkis, and Letitia Wright. The film has garnered glowing reviews and an A-plus CinemaScore.
Alighting in second place this weekend is Fox’s R-rated espionage thriller Red Sparrow — starring Jennifer Lawrence as a Russian ballerina turned deadly spy — with an estimated $17 million from 3,056 theaters. That’s in the ballpark of last year’s similarly themed spy flick Atomic Blonde, which bowed to $18.3 million, and Lawrence’s 2016 sci-fi movie Passengers, which opened to $14.9 million.
Based on the novel by Jason Matthews (a former CIA operative), Red Sparrow reunites Lawrence with director Francis Lawrence (no relation), whom she worked with on three Hunger Games movies. The cast also includes Joel Edgerton, Matthias Shoenaerts, and Charlotte Rampling. Critics’ reviews were mixed, and audiences gave it a lukewarm B CinemaScore.
The weekend’s other major new release, MGM’s vigilante remake Death Wish, arrives with about $13 million from 2,847 theaters — on the low end of industry projections and good for the No. 3 spot.
Directed by Eli Roth and based on the 1974 Charles Bronson movie of the same name, Death Wish stars Bruce Willis as a Chicago doctor who exacts bloody revenge on the men who brutally attacked his family.
The film has been savaged by critics, though moviegoers gave it a decent B-plus CinemaScore.
Rounding out the top five are Warner Bros’. comedy Game Night, with about $10.7 million, and Sony’s animated movie Peter Rabbit, with about $10 million.
According to ComScore, overall box office is up 10.9 percent year-to-date. Check out the March 2-4 figures below.
1. Black Panther — $65.7 million
2. Red Sparrow — $17 million
3. Death Wish — $13 million
4. Game Night — $10.7 million
5. Peter Rabbit — $10 million
6. Annihilation — $5.7 million
7. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle — $4.5 million
8. Fifty Shades Freed — $3.3 million
9. The Greatest Showman — $2.7 million
10. Every Day — $1.6 million