Black Panther Box Office: Chadwick Boseman's Film Pounces To Glory, Collects $242.2 Million

Washington: As the US kicked back for a long weekend, Disney's Black Panther got off to a superhero start in the North American box office, rocketing to the top spot with record-breaking earnings of $242.2 million, industry data showed Monday. According to figures from industry tracker Exhibitor Relations, the highly-anticipated 18th entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe earned $202 million over Friday, Saturday and Sunday - exceeding predictions of $170 million.

A new record Monday take of $40.2 million in the US pushed Black Panther's staggering earnings even further beyond the previous record-holder Deadpool's 2016 Presidents' Day weekend mark of $152.1 million.

Its performance overseas brought the global total to $426.6 million, which is already more than Marvel's Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) and The Incredible Hulk (2008) made during their entire theatrical runs.

The film, from Disney-owned Marvel Studios, features a star-studded, almost entirely black cast led by Chadwick Boseman as the first non-white superhero to get his own standalone movie in the franchise.

Starring alongside Michael B Jordan and Lupita Nyong'o, Boseman plays the titular superhero also known as T'Challa, king and protector of the technologically advanced fictional African nation of Wakanda, an affluent, never-colonized utopia.

Its various achievements include the second-largest four-day domestic opening weekend of all time, behind Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($288.1 million) and just ahead of Star Wars: The Last Jedi ($241.6 million).

Its three-day opening breaks the record for February and is the best ever for an African-American director.

In at second was family-friendly Peter Rabbit, based on Beatrix Potter's classic children's book. Mixing live actors with computer-generated animation, it brought in $23.4 million over the holiday weekend for total earnings of $54.4 million.

James Corden voices the lead bunny which feuds with garden owner Domhnall Gleeson for the affections of sweet-hearted neighbor Rose Byrne.

Dropping to third was last week's box office champion, Universal's Fifty Shades Freed, with takings of $19.4 million, down from $38.6 million the previous week.

Starring Dakota Johnson as English lit major-turned-publisher Anastasia Steele and Jamie Dornan as Christian Grey, her kinky lover-turned-husband, Freed is the last of the Fifty Shades trilogy, which has enjoyed massive popularity among primarily female audiences.

Sony's Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle placed fourth in its ninth week in theaters, matching last week's earnings with $10 million.

Featuring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Kevin Hart and Jack Black, the family film tells the tale of a group of teens transported inside a video game world.

Director Clint Eastwood's The 15:17 dropped two places into fifth, taking $8.9 million.

The film recounts the story of three young Americans who foiled a terrorist attack on board a train in France in 2015. In an alternative approach that divided critics, Eastwood cast the three men - none of whom had any acting experience - to play themselves.

Rounding out the top 10 were:

The Greatest Showman ($6.5 million)
Early Man ($4.3 million)
Maze Runner: The Death Cure ($3.2 million)
Winchester ($2.6 million)
The Post ($2.4 million)

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