*Black filmmakers had a remarkable year at the box office in 2018 — earning a record $1.5 billion at the domestic box office from 16 films, TheWrap reports.
2018 also marked the first year five films by Black creatives topped $100 million in North American ticket sales.
Per The Wrap:
The biggest domestic box office hit of the year was Ryan Coogler’s “The Black Panther,” which grossed $700.1 million in North America and $1.3 billion worldwide.
Steven Caple Jr.’s Michael B. Jordan boxing film “Creed II” earned $112.2 million; the $104.1 million-grossing animated hit “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” co-directed by Peter Ramsey and featuring Afro-Latino character Miles Morales as the webslinger; and Antoine Fuqua’s “The Equalizer 2,” a Denzel Washington actioner that pulled in $102.1 million.
Even Ava DuVernay’s warmly received “A Wrinkle in Time” crossed $100 million.
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“What we’re seeing is a combination of a number of things. We’ve seen, in the last four or five years, a renaissance of black voices and a rise of black filmmakers,” Macro founder and CEO Charles D. King said. “And you’ve got studios and financiers paying more attention to an audience that’s been historically underserved.”
“It shows that Hollywood gets at least passing marks for allowing — or for supporting, rather, black filmmakers,” Gil Robertson, founder of the African American Film Critics Association, said.
Spike Lee told TheWrap that he’s hopeful about the new wave of black filmmakers. “I just hope that this is not a trend,” he said. I hope this is steady, that it’s not just like a blip where everything came together and then nothing happens after this. We have to keep up the momentum.”
Lee’s “BlacKkKlansman” has grossed $90.0 million worldwide on a reported $15M budget.
“Entertainment is a business like any other, and if you’re not being diverse and inclusive then you are literally leaving money on the table,” April Reign, founder of the #OscarsSoWhite movement, told TheWrap. “What’s happening behind the camera has always been important, but now a light has been shown on that side of it too. I think what we’re seeing is a very slow change in who are the gate keepers.”
“We’re seeing so many filmmakers and creators supporting each other and the community and that’s where real progress and change happens,” King said. “Before they may have just been happy to break into the room, but this group understands it’s less about breaking into the room and more how to create your own room.”
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