Black Panther just became the first superhero origin movie to make over $1 billion in the box office—and this is only its fourth weekend in theaters.
What’s more, Black Panther is on track to surpass The Dark Knight as the highest-grossing superhero movie centered on just one hero, Buzzfeed reports. It’s the 16th Disney movie to reach the billion-dollar mark and the fifth Marvel movie to do so.
So far, it doesn’t look like Black Panther will be passing up The Avengers as the highest-grossing superhero movie, and it still needs to make another $200 million to beat the international gross for F Gary Gay’s The Fate of the Furious.
Still, Black Panther quickly shot to major international success with a 100 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes soon after its release. And as folks on Twitter point out, it totally proves that movie viewers truly value diversity in film.
Black Panther did a billi at the box office huh? Guess the industry has to rethink that whole “black movies don’t sell domestically or abroad” ting 👀
— Dan (@dan_mck96) March 10, 2018
#BlackPanther crosses $1 BILLION! Such a great achievement for Ryan Coogler, @chadwickboseman, and the entire Black Panther cast!
Representation matters and it doesn’t hurt the box office domestically or internationally. The world showed up for BLACK PANTHER! #WakandaForever pic.twitter.com/jRAck4QdMi
— ComicBook Debate (@ComicBookDebate) March 10, 2018
An all-black movie just crossed $1 billion at the box office. Turn up! #BlackPanther pic.twitter.com/xDBVuARhgt
— Joshua Chenault (@joshuachenault1) March 10, 2018
With massive and historical success like this, it should come as no surprise that Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that there will definitely be Black Panther sequel, in an interview published Friday.
The numbers prove that Black Panther marks a cultural moment in the film industry—and that Wakanda truly is forever.