Black Panther sets new North American holiday box office record

Black Panther has continued to shatter North American box office records after banking a whopping $242 million (£173 million) in its first four days on release.

Director Ryan Coogler's Marvel blockbuster, the first major studio superhero film to feature a predominantly black cast, enjoyed a big boost over the President's Day holiday weekend (16-20Feb18) to claim second place on the list of highest-grossing debuts.

It is only just behind 2015's Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which currently holds the title with $288.1 million (£206 million). The recent sci-fi sequel, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, is at three with $241.6 million (£172.7 million).

Black Panther, starring Chadwick Boseman as the titular superhero, also set a new milestone as the biggest Monday earner to date, adding $40.2 million (£28.7 million) to its haul, just $100,000 (£71,500) more than The Force Awakens.

Meanwhile, its final three-day opening figures of $201.7 million (£144.1 million) have helped the Marvel movie secure the title of the fifth-highest North American debut in box office history. The Force Awakens also leads that list with $247.9 million (£177.2 million).

Black Panther's other domestic records include the biggest February opening, the biggest pre-summer launch of all-time, and the highest-grossing singular superhero movie, easily outpacing Iron Man 3's $174 million (£124.4 million) debut in 2013.

Coogler can now also boast about having the biggest opening for a film with a black director - an honour previously held by F. Gary Gray for 2017's The Fate of the Furious, which banked $98.8 million (£70.6 million) in its first weekend on release.