‘Black Panther’ Has Biggest Opening Day Box Office of 2018 in UK

Black Panther opened in UK theaters yesterday and if those box office receipts are any indicator the eagerly-anticipated Marvel Cinematic Universe film is going to be a monster success. Black Panther has the biggest opening day in the UK box office this year.

The film brought in £2.667 million (around $3.74 million in US Dollars) for 550 sites on just its opening day. According to Screen Daily, it’s a sum that beats out Fifty Shades Freed which was released last Friday, but also bests two other Marvel Studios films’ UK opening days — Thor: Ragnarok and Doctor Strange.

In the US, Black Panther will open on Friday and is expected to bring in serious box office numbers here as well. With the film opening over the course of the four-day President’s Day weekend, the film’s opening box office projections have climbed from the previously estimated $165 million to over $170 million.

Should the projections prove to be accurate, Black Panther is poised to demolish the current President’s Day box office record. 2016’s Deadpool set that record with a $152 million opening weekend and it’s worth noting that Black Panther‘s UK opening day has already beaten Deadpool‘s one-day take. Even if Black Panther does fall short of Deadpool’s record take, the film will still easily beat out Fifty Shades of Grey‘s $93 million take in 2015.

Black Panther‘s UK box office performance may also be a sign that the Ryan Coogler-directed film could outperform other Marvel Studios films during their opening weekends as well. $170 million would be enough to make Black Panther the fifth highest opening weekend in Marvel Studios history if it outperforms the $170 million estimate, it could easily overtake Iron Man 3, which is presently the fourth highest opening weekend for Marvel Studios.

Black Panther is also outpacing films — including Marvel Studios films — in terms of advance ticket sales. The film has sold more early tickets than any other first quarter releases in the studio’s history. That’s a record holding true in the UK as well, with Black Panther outselling Captain America: Civil War in pre-ordered tickets within the first 24 hours after release.

Directed by Ryan Coogler, Black Panther stars Chadwick Boseman, Danai Gurira, Lupita Nyong’o, Michael B. Jordan, Letitia Wright, Daniel Kaluuya, Winston Duke, Martin Freeman, Angela Bassett, Andy Serkis, and Forest Whitaker.

Black Panther hits theaters on February 16.