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Kendrick Lamar-Led 'Black Panther' Soundtrack Tops Billboard 200
Black Panther is killing it at the box office and on the Billboard 200. The movie’s Kendrick Lamar-led soundtrack debuts at No. 1 on the chart with 154,000 equivalent album units (52,000 traditional) in its first week.
Featuring music from and inspired by the Marvel blockbuster, the TDE-produced effort wins the biggest week for a soundtrack since Suicide Squad: The Album, which topped the chart in August 2016. It’s the second soundtrack to top the chart this year, following The Greatest Showman.
Curated by K-Dot and Top Dawg Entertainment’s CEO Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith, Black Panther: The Album also features The Weeknd, SZA, Khalid, 2 Chainz, Future, and more. It marks the label’s fifth chart-topper following ScHoolboy Q’s Oxymoron and Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN., untitled unmastered., and To Pimp a Butterfly.
Streams helped Black Panther: The Album capture the pinnacle position, with 83,000 streaming equivalent units. This equates to 138.9 million on-demand streams of the LP’s 14 tracks.
Not only did the soundtrack top the charts, but the movie was a beast at the box office. The Ryan Coogler-directed film opened at No. 1 with $192 million, setting a record for the fifth largest three-day domestic opening in history.
Elsewhere on the Billboard 200, Justin Timberlake’s Man of the Woods drops to No. 2, Migos’ Culture II slips to No. 4, Bruno Mars’ 24K Magic dips 5-7, Post Malone’s Stoney falls 6-8, and Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN slides to No. 9.
Billboard 200 Top 10
1. Various – Black Panther: The Album – 154,000
2. Justin Timberlake – Man of the Woods – 74,000
3. Various – The Greatest Showman – 72,000
4. Migos – Culture II – 68,000
5. Various – Fifty Shades Freed – 58,000
6. Ed Sheeran – ÷ – 42,000
7. Bruno Mars – 24K Magic – 32,000
8. Post Malone – Stoney – 31,000
9. Kendrick Lamar – DAMN. – 31,000
10. Camila Cabello – Camila – 29,000