Box Office Smash

In case you’ve been sleeping under a rock — Marvel’s “Black Panther” movie just released last weekend and has turned out to be the highest grossing movie in a first week for it’s Marvel Cinematic Universe. Disney mentioned on Friday that Marvel similar titles have declined on average of 53% for the domestic box office, with the exception of “The Avengers,” which only dropped about 45%. The continuing buzz and opening numbers for Black Panther suggests a second weekend somewhere in the neighborhood of $83 million to the $95 million range. To put things more into perspective, “Deadpool” and “Captain America: Civil War” each fell 53%, and “Avengers: Age of Ultron” declined by 52%.

The Plot

After the death of his father, T’Challa returns home to the African nation of Wakanda to take his rightful place as king. When a powerful enemy suddenly reappears, T’Challa’s mettle as king — and as Black Panther — gets tested when he’s drawn into a conflict that puts the fate of Wakanda and the entire world at risk. Faced with treachery and danger, the young king must rally his allies and release the full power of Black Panther to defeat his foes and secure the safety of his people.

Behind the Scenes

Director Ryan Coogler breaks down one of the more memorable fight scenes in the movie featuring Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, and Chadwick Boseman.