'Black Panther' Led To Higher Ratings For 'Saturday Night Live'

It looks like Black Panther has the magic touch with the box office, but it also works wonders for ratings.

Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman hosted last night's Saturday Night Live with musical guest Cardi B, and it seems the mix was a big hit with viewers, as the latest episode returned from hiatus with a 4.5 Live+same day rating. It also held a 1.9 ratings amongst adults 18-49 (Deadline).

Boseman's episode was trending in the right direction, as it was up from SNL's previous Bill Hader hosted episode, which held a 4.5 and 1.9 respectively. The episode before that held a 4.1 and 1.7 respectively.

This episode rated the highest since Natalie Portman's episode with musical guest Dua Lipa, which pulled in a 4.6 and 2.0 in the demo.

Boseman is the second Black Panther star to host the show, as Sterling K. Brown hosted several weeks ago as well. We doubt these two will be the last if SNL can help it, and there are assuredly fans who would love to see stars like Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, Letitia Wright, and yes, Winston Duke.

If the latter happens, expect an M'Baku monologue skit to surface somewhere during the episode.

There's no word yet on who will host the show next, but it's been a rather star-powered season, with previous hosting duties held by stars like Ryan Gosling and Jay-Z, Gal Gadot and Sam Smith, Kumali Nanjiani and Pink, Larry David and Miley Cyrus, Tiffany Haddish and Taylor Swift, and more.

You can check out Chadwick Boseman's full monologue here.

As for Black Panther, the movie continues to set records at the box office, overtaking some elite competition. The film has already brought in over $659 million domestically so far and has added another $634 million overseas. That brings it to a total of around $1.2 billion after around 7 weeks of release.

Marvel Studios' Black Panther is now playing in theaters. Avengers: Infinity War hits theaters on April 27, 2018. It is followed by Ant-Man and The Wasp on July 6, 2018. Captain Marvel hits theaters on March 8, 2019, while the fourth Avengers movie lands on May 3, 2019. The sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming hits on July 5, 2019, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 lands in 2020.