Things We Saw Today: Black Panther and A Wrinkle in Time Top the Box Office This Weekend

With A Wrinkle in Time opening this weekend in second place with $33.5 million, and Black Panther finishing its fourth weekend in first place with $41.1 million, the weekend box office is officially led by two black-led, black-directed films. Variety didn’t have the precise numbers, but they observed that “this marks the first time in recent memory that films both led and directed by African-Americans have nabbed the first and second place spots at the box office.” And by The Grapevine‘s calculation, this is actually “the first time that films by black directors have held the top 2 spots at the U.S. box office.”

Of course, while that is undeniably a triumph for inclusivity and representation, it’s also a big triumph for The Mouse. Walt Disney continues to dominate the box office as it buys up more and more properties, and we should definitely keep our eye on their burgeoning monopoly. But for now, it’s time to celebrate this triumph for a more inclusive future. (via Variety)

• Sonia Rao at The Washington Post wrote about the power of genre films like A Wrinkle in Time, Black Panther, and Annihilation which embrace femininity and female-first storytelling.
• I know it’s for evil ol’ Nike, but this Serena Williams ad is still moving as hell.
  

  Never let anyone tell you what you are not. #untilweallwin @nikewomen #Nike pic.twitter.com/E1NhOmCc8D

  — Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) March 5, 2018

• I have been slain.
  

  omg, Reddit. pic.twitter.com/I9SYf1gaUk

  — Greg Miller (@GameOverGreggy) March 11, 2018

• This painting of the Collector and the Grandmaster hangs on the wall of the Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout ride at Disney’s California Adventure in Anaheim. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige said, “Right now [this] is the only place you can see the two of them in a frame together, but let’s hope that changes someday.” (via Fandango)
  

  Here’s the full Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout painting I did. It’s on the wall in the lobby before you go off into the first little rooms. It was fun to create the scenario between the two and have so much of the story be told through their faces and expressions. I really enjoy painting faces and expressions. Benicio is great as The Collector and I can’t wait to see @jeffgoldblum as the Grandmaster! #guardiansofthegalaxy #gotgvol2 #gotgmissionbreakout #beniciodeltoro #jeffgoldblum #thecollector #grandmaster #thorragnarok #marvelstudios #marvelcinematicuniverse #digitalart #disneyland #californiaadventure

  A post shared by Ryan Meinerding (@ryan_meinerding_art) on Aug 26, 2017 at 8:42am PDT

• Dirk Gently executive producer Arvind Ethan David has informed fans that “there will not be a season three of Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency. We tried, and we’ve explored all options. Ultimately, whilst the passion of the fan base has never been in question, there just isn’t a big enough audience for the economics to work out.” (via The Hollywood Reporter)

That’s all I’ve got today, TMSers! What about you?

(Featured image: Walt Disney Studios)

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