'Black Panther' Beats 'Titantic's Box Office Record to Become Third Highest Grossing Movie in US of All Time

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(Image credit: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)

published 8 April 2018

The success of Black Panther continues—following immense ticket sales since its release, Marvel's epic superhero film just surpassed Titanic to become the third highest-grossing movie of all time at the North American box office. Wakanda forever!

(Image credit: Marie Claire)

'Black Panther' Is Highest-Grossing Superhero Film

In less than two months, Black Panther has managed to make more at the box office than 1997's Titanic, which is more than a little impressive. As The Hollywood Reporter notes "Black Panther finished Friday with a domestic total of $659.3 million, just shy of the $659.5 million grossed by Titanic," easily surpassing that mark on Saturday.

Chadwick Boseman's unforgettable superhero performance still sits behind Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which made $936.7 million, and Avatar, which earned $760.5 million (via The Hollywood Reporter). Whether or not Black Panther will catch up to either of those record-breaking movies remains to be seen, but as no-one expected it to out-earn Titanic, it's certainly not an impossible feat.

Since before its release, critics noted that Black Panther is Marvel's most inclusive movie to date. Variety points out that the film's "diversity is not only racially inclusive, but representative of women and the LGBTQ community as well."

The impressive performances of female leads Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, and Angela Bassett definitely made the Marvel Cinematic Universe accessible to women in a way that previous superhero films hadn't.

Basically, Black Panther is proving that diversity can and does sell at the movies, and the latest box office figures make it clear that fans want more movies exactly like this.

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The 'Black Panther' Cast Won the Oscars Red Carpet

Amy Mackelden is a contributing editor at Marie Claire, where she covers celebrity and royal family news. She was the weekend editor at Harper’s BAZAAR for three years, where she covered breaking celebrity and entertainment news, royal stories, fashion, beauty, and politics. Prior to that, she spent a year as the joint weekend editor for Marie Claire, ELLE, and Harper's BAZAAR, and two years as an entertainment writer at Bustle. Her additional bylines include Cosmopolitan, People, The Independent, HelloGiggles, Biography, Shondaland, Best Products, New Statesman, Heat, and The Guardian. Her work has been syndicated by publications including Town & Country, Good Housekeeping, Esquire, Delish, Oprah Daily, Country Living, and Women's Health. Her celebrity interviews include Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Chastain, the cast of Selling Sunset, Emma Thompson, Jessica Alba, and Penn Badgley. In 2015, she delivered an academic paper at Kimposium, the world's first Kardashian conference.