Marvel’s “Black Panther,” starring Chadwick Boseman in the title role, bounded into the top five most popular movies on Apple and Amazon’s charts Saturday — a notable feat, given that the blockbuster superhero title is also streaming on Disney Plus.
Interest in “Black Panther” — as well as Boseman’s other films — surged following the shocking news of the actor’s death on Friday. He was 43.
“Black Panther” stood at No. 2 on Amazon Video’s sales chart of best-selling U.S. movies as of Sunday morning, behind only new release “Bill & Ted Face the Music.”
On Apple’s iTunes, “Black Panther” was No. 5 on the top U.S. movies list, just after “42” at No. 4, featuring Boseman’s portrayal of groundbreaking Black baseball player Jackie Robinson. “Marshall,” starring Boseman as Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, was No. 8 on iTunes. The top three entries on the Apple U.S. movie list were “Bill & Ted Face the Music”; a special-priced bundle of the three “Bill & Ted” movies; and “The King of Staten Island.”
“Black Panther” rolled off Netflix in the U.S. in early March 2020 to come to Disney Plus, part of the unwinding of Disney’s output licensing deal with Netflix for the U.S. and Canada.
On Saturday, Disney Plus featured “Black Panther” in the service’s top carousel window with the message, “In remembrance of Chadwick Boseman.” Some fans called on Disney to make “Black Panther” free to stream in honor of the late actor, but for now it’s available only to paying customers.
“Our hearts are broken and our thoughts are with Chadwick Boseman’s family,” Disney Plus posted on its official Twitter account late Friday. “Your legacy will live on forever. Rest In Peace.”
Meanwhile, WarnerMedia’s TBS aired “Black Panther” on Saturday at 9 p.m. ET/PT and will have a repeat showing on Sunday at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
The Ryan Coogler-directed “Black Panther” was nominated for multiple Academy Awards, including for best picture, the first superhero movie ever nominated in the category, and won three Oscars. The film has a nearly all-black cast, with Boseman in the title role alongside Angela Bassett, Michael B. Jordan, Forest Whitaker, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira and Letitia Wright. “Black Panther” generated $1.35 billion worldwide at the box office during its 2018 theatrical run.