Already a much-celebrated pop-culture milestone, "Black Panther" is now a record-setting smash at the box office, too.
The Marvel superhero film blew past expectations, with $192 million in ticket sales in North America over the weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday. That makes "Black Panther" the fifth-biggest opening weekend ever, not accounting for inflation.
The only films with a higher grossing opening weekend are "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," ''Star Wars: The Last Jedi," ''Jurassic World" and "The Avengers." It's also the highest-grossing February opening weekend.
"All hail the King of Wakanda!" declared the Walt Disney Co. while reporting Sunday's estimates.
The studio forecasts a four-day holiday weekend of $218 million in the U.S. and Canada, and a global debut of $361 million. Though the film's international footprint doesn't include several of the largest markets — China, Russia, Japan — it still ranks among the top 15 global debuts ever.
Ryan Coogler's film, which cost about $200 million to make, is the most big-budget, largely black ensemble film in years and among the few to be centered on a black superhero. The strong opening suggests "Black Panther" will easily set a box-office record for films directed by a black filmmaker.
Chadwick Boseman stars as T'Challa/Black Panther in the first stand-alone film for the superhero created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1966. The cast also features Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Daniel Kaluuya and Letitia Wright.
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According to comScore, 37 percent of moviegoers were African-American.
The movie has been hugely acclaimed, with a 97 percent fresh rating from Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences agreed, giving it an A-plus CinemaScore.