By Jake Coyle, Film Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --With a massive $40.2 million in ticket sales Monday, "Black Panther" has set another box-office record: biggest Monday ever.
The Walt Disney Co. again raised its box-office estimates for the Marvel sensation on Tuesday. The film's updated Monday performance — $7 million higher than Disney earlier forecast — narrowly topped the previous record, set by "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" in 2015 with $40.1 million.
The higher Monday figure gives "Black Panther" the second biggest four-day weekend, behind only the $288.1 million of "The Force Awakens." With $242 million over the Presidents' Day weekend, "Black Panther" moves ahead of December's "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" in the ranks of four-day starts.
Ryan Coogler's film, starring Chadwick Boseman, is the first big-budget tent pole release featuring a nearly all-black cast. The movie's three-day gross of $201.8 million ranks fifth highest of all time, not accounting for inflation.
Internationally, "Black Panther," which cost $200 million to make, is also outperforming earlier estimates. It has made $184.6 million overseas thus far, giving it a worldwide total of $426.6 million.
Avid completes acquisition of Wolftech
Avid®, known for software solutions for professional media production, has completed the acquisition of Wolftech Broadcast Solutions, a leader in cloud-based multiplatform news planning, production and publishing solutions.
The acquisition enables Avid to combine its digital-first, end-to-end media solution with Wolftech’s expertise in story-centric workflow management. News organizations will be able to increase efficiency and accelerate story delivery through enhanced remote collaboration and multiplatform amplification.
Avid CEO Wellford Dillard stated, “Wolftech is unquestionably on the leading edge of where the industry is going, and this acquisition demonstrates Avid’s commitment to transform news, sports, and live production workflows. We are delighted to welcome Wolftech into the Avid family.”
Wolftech CEO Arne Berven added, “We were focused on finding a partner that could accelerate the adoption of our platform globally. We explored a number of possibilities, but when we talked to Avid, we knew it was the right match.”
The closing of the acquisition follows Avid’s announcement on October 7 that the company had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Wolftech.
With this acquisition, Avid deepens the integration between the two toolsets while continuing to embrace an open approach in partnering with a wide range of media production tools and newsroom systems. Existing Wolftech customers will benefit from Avid’s global scale for customer support and professional services.
Ian Axton, head of production operations for ITV News, said, “As a customer of both Avid and Wolftech we’re excited about the benefits this acquisition will bring to our users and our business. Wolftech has transformed... Read More