'Black Panther' reaches $1 billion mark at the global box office

Shattering Hollywood's belief that movies with all black cast do not travel, Black Panther has now collected over $1 billion at the global box office in just 26 days of the release.

Directed by Ryan Coogler, Black Panther is now the 33rd movie to reach the $1 billion mark. It is also the 16th movie to gross this amount worldwide, reports Variety. Joining the ranks of The Avengers at $1.52 billion, Avengers: Age of Ultron at $1.4 billion, Iron Man 3 at $1.2 billion and Captain America: Civil War at $1.15 billion, Black Panther is now fifth Marvel movie to gross $1 billion.

The report also projects that Black Panther is expected to collect $500 million this weekend. The boost is expected to come from China which saw the premiere of the movie this Friday. The tentpole movie has already bagged $20 million on its first day.

Set in the fictional African nation of Wakanda, Black Panther chronicles the journey of self-discovery of newly appointed king T'Challa. Chadwick Boseman plays the titular role which was first introduced in Captain America: Civil War. The star cast of Black Panther includes Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, Michael B Jordan, Winston Duke, Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright, Martin Freeman, and Andy Serkis.

Many of the aforementioned stars will reprise their roles in Avengers: Infinity War which once again a big bid from Disney and Marvel for summer box office. Directed by Russo brothers, Avengers: Infinity War is scheduled to release on April 27 worldwide.