Black Panther tops US Box Office for fifth weekend in a row

Beating stiff competition from Tomb Raider

'Black Panther' proved a game-changer in 2018 (Marvel Studios)

Black Panther continues to dominate the US box office, topping the charts for a fifth weekend in a row with a $27 million [£19.36 million] taking.

The Marvel blockbuster was expected to be beaten by the latest adaptation of Tomb Raider, the video-game adaptation stumbling out the starting blocks with a $23.5 million [£16.85 million] opening.

Black Panther has now become the first movie since Avatar to top the weekend charts for five straight weekends, while the gross itself makes the fourth-biggest fifth weekend of all time (behind Frozen, Titanic, and Avatar).

With a total domestic taking of $605.4 million [£434 million], the Ryan Coogler-directed flick has become only the seventh to pass the $600 million mark and the second-highest grossing superhero movie in the US — Avengers remains ahead with a total domestic gross of $623 million [£446.65 million].

Outside of the US, Black Panther took an additional $30 million [£21.51 million], while Tomb Raider managed $84.5 million, topping the international box office. China was the best market for the Alicia Vikander-fronted action movie, where it took $41.1 million [£29.47 million].

In the UK, Tomb Raider was beaten by Peter Rabbit, the James Corden-voiced animated animal pulling in $9.5 million [£6.81 million] worth of business over the weekend. Tomb Raider landed at number two with $4.2 million [£3.01 million], according to Deadline.

With an estimated budget of $90 million [£64.53 million], Tomb Raider should break even internationally, although the tepid response from critics and viewers — the movie holds a Cinescore of B — hopes for a sequel have been somewhat diminished.