'Black Panther' Debuts With $66.5 Million in China

Marvel's "Black Panther" has just launched in China, but it has already earned $66.5 million on its opening weekend. While that is an impressive feat, reports suggest that its victory at the Chinese box office may not last for long.

China is "Black Panther's" final international market. However, how it performs in the country is a huge deal for Marvel since China is the world's second-biggest market. Last weekend, the film made headlines in the country after its $66.5-million haul has exceeded U.K.'s $55.8 million, South Korea's $42.8 million and Brazil's $29.6 million. The film is the first foreign movie to open in China since the Chinese New Year holiday, so everybody's looking forward to it.

Despite the film having exceeded all of its box office projections, some reports reveal that "Black Panther" has been receiving a number of unfavorable reviews in China's local website Douban. Because of that, there are speculations that the film will not be able to earn much more than it has earned so far.

Fans will know in the coming days if "Black Panther" will retain its strong position at the Chinese box office. Through its opening weekend, the film had a 53 percent market share in China, and as far as its current performance can tell, there are no signs that it is going to slow down anytime soon.

"Black Panther's" $66.5-million debut in China represents the fourth largest Marvel Cinematic Universe film debut in the country, behind "Spider-Man: Homecoming" with $69.2 million, "Captain America: Civil War" with $93.6 million, and "Avengers: Age of Ultron" with $155.7 million.

With "Black Panther" still performing well at the Chinese box office, Marvel expects the film to hit the $1.2 billion mark soon, making it one of the highest grossing MCU films of all time.