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As of this writing, Disney-Marvel’s _Black Panther _has earned $501 million in the United States and $897 million worldwide. The Chadwick Boseman-led, Ryan Coogler-directed superhero feature
will surpass $1 billion by next weekend with the upside for a lot more if it connects in China (where it will hit theaters on Friday). Its record-breaking grosses have given Marvel Studios
a lot of options moving forward in a soon-to-be post-Avengers world. _Black Panther _has also helped spur the month of February to a record-shattering $1 billion at the box office. That’s
right, billion with a B. The film earned $428.8 million domestically in February, good for 43 percent of ticket sales. The massive totals have furthered the belief that there is no such
thing as a non-blockbuster month on the calendar anymore. Studios can now drop a quality tentpole product at any time and watch as the money pours in. Elsewhere, Universal’s _Fifty Shades
Freed _($91.7 million) also helped push February to the top of the charts. Somehow, the _Fifty Shades _franchise has also now earned $1 billion worldwide combined. It’s a sad day for film
enthusiasts and box office trackers alike. Sony Animation’s _Peter Rabbit _($73.4 million) and holiday holdovers such as Sony’s _Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle _($47.6 million) and 20th
Century Fox’s _The Greatest Showman _($32.7 million) have also contributed to the enormous totals. Never underestimate the power of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson or a good power ballad show
tune. The 2017 year ended two percent lower than 2016 at the box office as ticket sales continued to decline. However, largely on the back of _Black Panther_, the January 1 to March 4 period
is up 11 percent compared to last year with a grand total of $2.1 billion, per Deadline. With massive franchise installments such as (deep breath) _Avengers: Infinity War_, _Solo: A Star
Wars Story_, _Deadpool 2_, _Ocean’s Eight_, _The Incredibles 2_, _Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom_, _Ant-Man and the Wasp_, _Mission: Impossible—Fallout_, _Venom_, _The Girl in the Spider’s
Web_, _X-Men: Dark Phoenix_, _Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald_, _Creed 2_ and _Aquaman _all set to release this year, the 2018 box office shows no signs of slowing down. In fact,
2016’s all-time record of $11.38 billion may very well be within reach. There are, after all, a handful of big-budget one-offs like _A Wrinkle in Time _and _Mortal Engines _that could catch
on, not to mention buzzy Oscar potentials in _The First Man._ It will be interesting to see if Hollywood can build on _Black Panther_‘s momentum throughout the rest of the year.