‘Black Panther’ tops $1 billion at box office, joins Marvel elite – CNET

blackpantherthrone

Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) sits comfortably on his box-office throne.

Disney/Marvel

All hail the king! “Black Panther” has earned more than a billion dollars in worldwide box office receipts, Variety reported on Saturday. The film, which has been out for just 26 days, was helped over the milestone by a Friday opening in China, where it earned roughly $20 million.

Four other Marvel films have passed the billion dollar mark: “The Avengers,” “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” “Iron Man 3” and “Captain America: Civil War.”

The film stars Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther/T’Challa, the superpowered leader of the African nation of Wakanda. The movie also stars Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira and Letitia Wright. 

It’s been breaking records pretty much since its Feb. 16 opening, and enjoyed the second-biggest opening weekend for a Marvel Studios film, trailing only 2012’s “The Avengers.” It’s also only the fourth film to top $100 million in each of its first two weekends.