A lavish, headline-grabbing premiere. Lightning word-of-mouth stoked by glowing reviews. Packed movie theatres with sold-out shows, long lines and fans decked out as characters from the film.

The phenomenon of 91裸聊视频淏lack Panther91裸聊视频� had the look and feel of a classic, bona fide blockbuster in route to its record-setting $201.8 million debut over the weekend, or an estimated $235 million Friday through Monday. Much has been made about the film industry91裸聊视频檚 struggles to tap into pop culture the way it once more regularly did 91裸聊视频� that TV and streaming options and a dearth of fresh ideas have diminished the power of the big screen.

But when Hollywood does manufacture a must-see theatrical event, it has increasingly been propelled by the power of inclusivity. Just as Jordan Peele91裸聊视频檚 Oscar-nominated 91裸聊视频淕et Out91裸聊视频� ($253 million worldwide on a $4.5 million production budget) and Patty Jenkins 91裸聊视频淲onder Woman91裸聊视频� ($821.1 million) did before it, 91裸聊视频淏lack Panther91裸聊视频� captured the zeitgeist by the potent combination of top-notch filmmaking (the film stands at 97 per cent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes), studio backing and an audience hungry to see itself represented on the big screen in a way it seldom has before.

At the box office, inclusion is paying 91裸聊视频� and often, it91裸聊视频檚 paying off big time.

91裸聊视频淒iversity does in fact, sell,91裸聊视频� said Darnell Hunt, a professor and director of social science at UCLA whose research has detailed the connection between diversity and bottom lines. 91裸聊视频淚n hindsight, it91裸聊视频檚 kind of a no-brainer. The American public is about 40 per cent people of colour now, and we know that people of colour over-index in terms of media consumption. The patterns we91裸聊视频檝e been seeing are only becoming more pronounced as time goes on.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淏lack Panther91裸聊视频� debuted with $361 million in worldwide ticket sales, setting up the $200 million film for a theatrical run that should easily eclipse $1 billion. History is assured. Just months after Jenkins helmed the biggest box-office hit directed by a woman, Ryan Coogler will set a new mark for films directed by an African American. The debut, the best ever for February, is the fifth highest of all time, not accounting for inflation.

At a time where hits are hard to come by for Hollywood, diversity in storytelling is proving to be not only a just cause, but a box-office imperative.

91裸聊视频淚f you want to succeed on the global stage, certainly in the tent-pole business, you have to have diversity in storytelling, in the characters that you put in front of the camera, in the artisans you put behind the camera 91裸聊视频� to be able to get that better, richer storytelling and to drive huge results,91裸聊视频� said Dave Hollis, distribution chief for Disney. 91裸聊视频淭he results speak for themselves.91裸聊视频�

Hollis pointed to the many factors that made 91裸聊视频淏lack Panther91裸聊视频� a hit: Coogler91裸聊视频檚 direction, the stewardship of Kevin Feige91裸聊视频檚 Marvel, the reliability of the brand. But he also noted a developing pattern for Disney 91裸聊视频� that inclusive films are both richer for their diversity and, often, richer for the bottom line.

91裸聊视频淚t feels like the right thing to do. It makes for better, richer storytelling, and we91裸聊视频檙e a business. It91裸聊视频檚 something that91裸聊视频檚 just delivered big, huge box office,91裸聊视频� said Hollis. 91裸聊视频淲hen we have leaned into and had inclusion and representation as part of the mix, it91裸聊视频檚 just really worked. When you think about 91裸聊视频楽tar Wars91裸聊视频� and 91裸聊视频楻ogue One,91裸聊视频� the female protagonist leading those stories. Also 91裸聊视频楳oana91裸聊视频� or 91裸聊视频楥oco.91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频楥oco91裸聊视频� has been an absolute juggernaut.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淐oco,91裸聊视频� which is expected to win the Oscar for best animated feature next month, has gross more than $730 million worldwide. It91裸聊视频檚 the biggest budget release starring an all-Latino cast.

Rian Johnson91裸聊视频檚 91裸聊视频淪tar Wars: The Last Jedi,91裸聊视频� which has grossed $1.3 billion worldwide, did more than any previous 91裸聊视频淪tar Wars91裸聊视频� film to elevate its female characters, and featured the widely hailed breakout star Kelly Marie Tran.

By promoting diversity in its films, Disney has faced some backlash from social-media critics who deride films like 91裸聊视频淭he Last Jedi91裸聊视频� and Sony91裸聊视频檚 201591裸聊视频檚 female-led 91裸聊视频淕hostbusters91裸聊视频� as politically correct overreach. Some fans have even gone to the extraordinary length of trying to drive down audience scores for those films.

But consider the fate of movies that haven91裸聊视频檛 tried as hard to be culturally authentic. Paramount91裸聊视频檚 91裸聊视频淕host in the Shell,91裸聊视频� which starred Scarlett Johansson in a role originally written as a cyborg in a Japanese woman91裸聊视频檚 body, last year bombed at the box office after a backlash over Johansson91裸聊视频檚 casting.

Meanwhile, the diverse cast of Universal91裸聊视频檚 91裸聊视频淭he Fast and the Furious91裸聊视频� films helped make it one of the most bankable franchises in movies. Other standout hits have included 91裸聊视频淕irls Trip91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频� the biggest comedy of 2017 91裸聊视频� and Sony91裸聊视频檚 unexpectedly lucrative 91裸聊视频淛umanji: Welcome to the Jungle.91裸聊视频� The film, starring Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart, reigned over the January box office as the no. 1 film on four weekends.

91裸聊视频淛umanji91裸聊视频� has grossed more than $904 million worldwide, including more than a half a billion dollars overseas. The old argument that films starring African-American actors don91裸聊视频檛 travel well has never had a worse two months. 91裸聊视频淏lack Panther91裸聊视频� opened with $160 million abroad, even without several markets (China, Japan, Russia) yet open.

And in Hollywood, nothing talks like money.

91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频楤lack Panther91裸聊视频� can be an important first step toward really dispelling the myth that has held Hollywood back for generations in terms of telling the stories that we certainly want to see in this country but I think that the rest of the world wants to see, too,91裸聊视频� said Hunt.

Studies have also shown that diverse casts attract wider audiences. Last year, talent agency CAA found that of the top 10 grossing films in 2016, 47 per cent of the opening-weekend audience was made up of people of colour, up 2 per cent from the year before. The effect was even more pronounced in the biggest hits. Seven of the 10 highest-grossing films from 2016 had opening weekend audiences more than 50 per cent white.

The audience for 91裸聊视频淏lack Panther91裸聊视频� was 65 per cent non-white, including 37 per cent black, according to comScore.

Latinos and African Americans are also more eager moviegoers, according to the Motion Picture Association of America. In the MPAA91裸聊视频檚 most recent report, it found that though Latinos make up 18 per cent of the U.S. population, they account for 23 per cent of frequent moviegoers. Though African Americans are 12 per cent of the population, they make up 15 per cent of frequent moviegoers.

91裸聊视频淚f you look at some of the bigger blockbusters from the last year, they were representative of what the audience are looking for, how they91裸聊视频檙e feeling,91裸聊视频� said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for comScore. 91裸聊视频淭hese films reflect society and then society reflects back on the films. That91裸聊视频檚 when you get to these much bigger than expected debuts. It becomes more than a movie. It becomes a cultural event.91裸聊视频�

Communal movie-going may be under siege from other entertainment options. But films like 91裸聊视频淏lack Panther91裸聊视频� are making movie theatres more communal than ever.

Jake Coyle, The Associated Press

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