‘Black Panther’ Passes ‘Titanic’ To Become Third Movie All-Time at U.S. Box Office

Black Panther has been smashing all kinds of records at the box office. It’s had the best opening week for any Marvel movie ever, it’s the biggest February opening at the box office, and it tied James Cameron’s Avatar as having the longest run atop the box office at five weeks.

Now, Black Panther has reached another milestone — Ryan Coogler’s blockbuster hit has passed Titanic to settle in as the third-highest grossing movie of all-time in the United States.

Titanic finished it’s domestic run at $659.3 million while Friday estimations show Black Panther raked in an additional $2.3 million, boosting it’s domestic total to right around $661 million.

Barring any kind of miracle, Black Panther looks to finish it’s domestic run third behind Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($936.6 million) and Avatar ($760.5 million).

Just last week, the movie passed Jurassic World and Frozen stateside and globally, respectively.

Coogler — the director behind Fruitvale Station, Creed, and now Marvel Studios’ Black Panther franchise — previously took to Twitter via @MarvelStudios to share his heartfelt thanks.

“I am struggling to find the words to express my gratitude at this moment, but I will try.

Filmmaking is a team sport. And our team was made up amazing people from all over the world who believed in this story. Deep down we all hoped that people would come see a film about a fictional country on the continent of Africa, made up of a cast of African descent.

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 — but 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.

For the people who bought out theaters, who posted on social media about how lit the film would be, bragged about our awesome cast, picked out outfits to wear, and who stood in line in theaters all over the world — all before even seeing the film…

To the press who wrote about the film for folks who hadn’t seen it yet, and encouraged audiences to come out…

And to the young ones, who came out with their parents, with their mentors, and with their friends…

Thank you for giving our team of filmmakers the greatest gift: The opportunity to share this film, that we poured our hearts and souls into, with you.”

Black Panther is in theaters now. Avengers: Infinity War is set for release on April 27 before Ant-Man and the Wasp wraps on Marvel Studios’ 2018 slate on July 6.

Next year, Captain Marvel is slated for release on International Woman’s Day on March 8, 2019 while the yet-to-be-named Avengers 4 movie will debut on May 3, 2019.

Do you think third is where Black Panther settles domestically or do you feel like the flick still has some gas left in the tank? Let us know in the comments!