Four weeks after it opened at the box office, "Black Panther" remains firmly in the No. 1 spot and shows no signs of slowing down as it crossed the $1 billion mark in worldwide sales.
"It really feels like we are in the middle of summer," Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at comscore.com, told ABC News. "Most numbers like that are from films that opened in the summer or holiday season. Rarely does this happen in February."
Not only is "Black Panther" smashing records, but it's rewriting the rules about what sells in the movie marketplace.
"It's not just a movie event, it's a cultural event," Dergarabedian said. "It has sparked a conversation about inclusiveness and diversity and whether a movie like this can travel internationally, and it has."
At its China opening this past weekend, "Black Panther" grossed an impressive $66.5 million, helping it cross the $1 billion threshold.
The film is also wiping out its closest competitors. "Wrinkle in Time" couldn't even topple "Black Panther" in its opening weekend. It earned $33.3 million this past weekend, placing it second to the $41.1 million that "Black Panther" raked in for its fourth weekend.
"I don’t think anyone could have anticipated that 'Black Panther' could have been this strong this far out," Dergarabedian said. "Every week it’s not dropping precipitously. Usually you're going to see a pretty steep drop off. But it's a completely dominating force."
The main reason for its staying power: "It's really just a great movie by every measure," Dergarabedian said.
Below, check out the impressive numbers the film has posted so far.
Weekly totals
For its opening weekend, "Panther" earned $202,003,951, giving it the fifth-biggest opening weekend in North America of all time. In its second weekend, it claimed the spot for the second-biggest second weekend ever in North America. And in its third weekend, it earned the third-biggest weekend of all time.
"We could be looking at a $25 to $30 million fifth weekend," Dergarabedian said. Even with "Tomb Raider" and "Love, Simon" opening this weekend, he said, "Don't underestimate 'Black Panther.'"
February record breaker
"Deadpool" opened the door to February blockbusters when it earned over $100 million in its opening weekend in February 2016. Of course, "Black Panther" came along two years later and obliterated that record, earning more than twice as much and posting the biggest February debut of all time. What "Black Panther" has proven, Dergarabedian said, is "the month doesn’t make the movie, the movie defines the month."
Marvel magic
The film's domestic cumulative total of $562 million also makes it the No. 7 release of all time, passing "The Dark Knight," which earned $535 million.
"Panther" has also given Marvel Studios the Top 2 superhero films of all time. No. 1 is "Marvel's The Avengers," which earned $623 million.
"Black Panther" and "Wrinkle in Time" are produced by Disney, the parent company of ABC News.
