(AllHipHop News) “Black Panther’s” record-breaking earnings have helped push the North American box office over $1 billion for the first time in the month of February.
The superhero film, which stars Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, and Lupita Nyong’o, earned $428.8 million in the U.S. and Canada in February.
“Fifty Shades Freed,” “Peter Rabbit,” “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,” and “The Greatest Showman” have also helped propel box office sales.
Director Ryan Coogler’s Marvel movie has topped the North American box office for three weeks in a row and over the weekend it blasted past $500 million at the North American box office after grossing $65.7 million.
“Black Panther” also owns the third-best third weekend ever at the domestic box office, behind “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” and “Avatar.”
The film is showing no signs of slowing down and last month, Coogler wrote an open letter to moviegoers and fans, thanking them for their support.
“I am struggling to find the words to express my gratitude at this moment, but I will try,” he wrote in the note, which was shared on Marvel Studios’ Instagram page. “Never in a million years did we imagine that you all would come out this strong.
“It still humbles me to think that people care enough to spend their money and time watching our film… To see people of all backgrounds wearing clothing that celebrates their heritage, taking pictures next to our posters with their friends and family, and sometimes dancing in the lobbies of theaters – often moved me and my wife to tears…”