How much money is “Black Panther” expected to make? It’s on track to break a major record

Following stellar reviews, and an initial 100% Rotten Tomatoes score, Black Panther is set to have the biggest February opening weekend EVER. Possibly even of all time. We’re talking about zeros upon zeros here, people. And that’s a whole lot of money to rake in.

The futuristic superhero blockbuster has been consistently generating hype since the Black Panther teaser was released, so this isn’t entirely surprising.

If the domestic box-office predictions are any indication, the highly anticipated Marvel film could even top some of the biggest openings of all time. Hollywood tracking service NRG initially expected earnings to be in the $100 million to $120 million range, but as of this week, the estimate has risen to a staggering $165 million, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

And if this prediction proves to be correct, Black Panther would effectively surpass Deadpool‘s record for the biggest February opening, which reached $152.2 million over Presidents Day weekend in 2016. It would also top the second-highest Presidents Day debut, Fifty Shades of Grey, which earned $93 million in 2015. And that’s a pretty big deal.

To put things into perspective, only four of 18 Marvel films have had a bigger opening weekend.

Those films were The Avengers ($207.4 million), Avengers: Age of Ultron ($191.3 million), Captain America: Civil War ($179.1 million), and Iron Man 3 ($174.1 million).

Online ticketing service Fandango also reports that presales for the Ryan Coogler superhero epic have already eclipsed Captain America: Civil War as the site’s best-selling Marvel title. Plus, according to a recent Fandango survey of more than 8,000 moviegoers, Black Panther was voted one of the year’s top two most hotly anticipated films, ranking second to Avengers: Infinity War.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjDjIWPwcPU?feature=oembed

So if you need further proof that you don’t need a white superhero (and a predominantly white cast) for a movie to be wildly successful, then this is it. All $165 million of it.

The film stars Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa, the new king of the advanced African nation of Wakanda. Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Daniel Kaluuya, and Angela Bassett are also part of the all-star cast.

Black Panther hits the theaters on February 16th. Are you ready? Cause we definitely are!