Black Panther is now the third-highest earner domestically for the MCU, sitting behind only The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron. Marvel's latest film is continuing to outperform expectations, much like Wonder Woman did last year. In fact, the success of Black Panther and Wonder Woman has theater owners asking for more diversity - and it's not hard to see why. After a massive opening, Black Panther broke second-weekend records with $111 million domestically, besting The Avengers once again in the process.

Thanks to Black Panther's two big weekends, both at home and abroad, it's fast on its way to the coveted $1 billion mark. Even during the week, the film has been setting new records and pulling in impressive numbers. Its third weekend will naturally see a drop, but by all accounts it will be one of the smallest drops ever for a film. Thanks to that momentum, Black Panther cracked $400M domestically after just 10 days in theaters. Now, its made short work of its MCU competition.

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Variety is reporting that Black Panther brought in $8.1M domestically on Monday. That puts its North American haul at $411.7M and means it's now the third-highest earner in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The Avengers still holds the top spot with $623.35M, while Avengers: Age of Ultron has a much more beatable $459M.

Internationally, Black Panther brought in $10.9M yesterday, bringing its worldwide total to $727.9M. At this point, achieving $1B globally shouldn't be an issue. The film will also easily overtake Age of Ultron, though topping The Avengers could be out of reach. The film currently sits right behind Wonder Woman as the 22nd highest earner of all time at the domestic box office. This weekend, it will seek to earn a spot among the best third weekend performers of all time, which are currently Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($90.2M), Avatar ($68.5M), and The Avengers ($55.6M).

When it comes to third weekend competition, Red Sparrow will debut with an estimated $18–25M, while Death Wish is looking to premiere between $14–16M. The spy and action films respectively could eat into Black Panther's audience a bit, but moviegoers so far have seemed quite keen to go back for repeat viewings. What's more, word of mouth seems to be giving the film strong legs as more people turn out each week to catch what's become a cultural event.

Meanwhile, the success of the film has started to spill over into the real world. Disney is helping to open STEM centers nationwide with a $1M donation to Boys and Girls Clubs of America. The initiative will see new science and technology centers open across the country, including in Oakland, CA - which plays a pivotal role in Black Panther. In the end, the success of Black Panther may prove to be a watershed moment when it comes to the shape of blockbusters to come.

MORE: Black Panther Attraction Could Be Coming to Disney Parks

Source: Variety

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