Over President's Day weekend, Black Panther arrived in theaters with its claws out. The film is truly unique and historic just as a piece of cinematic art; we've never seen a superhero movie with a nearly all-black cast, and this one in particular celebrates the beauty of the cast's natural hair and places a special emphasis on traditional African costumes and African culture. By all means, it's not hard to see why Black Panther means so much to the black community. Then there's the icing on the cake: in addition to being an important touchstone for representation, the film already happens to be shattering records left and right. Here's what it's accomplished so far:
- Fastest 24-hour presale for a Marvel Cinematic Universe film
- Biggest February opening
- Highest grossing film by a black director
- Biggest Monday gross in box office history
- Second biggest four-day weekend gross
- Second biggest Thursday night preview gross for a Marvel film
- Second biggest Sunday gross in box office history
- Fifth biggest opening weekend gross in box office history
Clearly, Black Panther has already cemented its place in history, and it hasn't even been out a full week. It's easy to see how it could break many more records in the days, weeks, and months to come.