*BLACK PANTHER* OUTPERFORMS *THE AVENGERS*

Black Panther becomes the highest-grossing MCU film.

THE FILM took $292 million at the North American box office. $22 million more than  The Avengers grossed in its first week in 2012.

The Film is yet to open in several international markets, opening in China on 9 March, though the numbers are still impressive there :

It's made $228 million internationally so far, led by the UK with $31.9 million, making for a $520 million worldwide total.

That does open  Black Panther  up to the potential of becoming the highest -grossing  comic book film of all time, a title  The Avengers currently holds, though that'll be dependent on how much its box office declines in future weeks.

Disney noted, via Variety, that comparative Marvel titles have declined on average of  53% domestically, with the exception of The Avengers, which only dropped 45%.

That would suggest  Black panther's second weekend will fall somewhere $83 million and $95 million range, yet many estimates have fallen short when predicting the Ryan Coogler film's record breaking success.

The first solo outing for Chadwick Boseman's  TChalla, the titular hero, Marvel's latest traces the aftermath of Captain America :Civil War events; TChalla now returns home to Wakanda, only to find a pair of enemies conspiring to bring down his Kingdom.

Alongside Boseman, the film boats the likes of Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Forest Whitaker, Letitia Wright, Angela Bassett, Danai Gurira, and Daniel Kaluuya.

[Agencies].