Los Angeles, Apr 9 (IANS): Ryan Coogler's "Black Panther" surpassed the collections of James Cameron's gigantic 1997 "Titanic" to rank as the third top-grossing title of all time at the US box office.

"Black Panther", featuring an all-black cast, falls behind "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" ($936.7 million) and "Avatar" ($760.5 million), with a domestic total of $659.3 milion till Friday, according to hollywoodreporter.com.

"Titanic" had finished at $659.5 million when it released in late 1997.

Globally, "Black Panther" has grossed $1.29 billion, ranking as the No 10 title of all time.

The Disney and Marvel superhero film stars Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa/Black Panther alongside Lupita Nyong'o, Michael B. Jordan, Danai Gurira, Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker and Andy Serkis.

The story, described as a tale of black power and black pride in addition to its superhero themes, follows T'Challa as he is sworn in as king of Wakanda, a cloaked, technologically advanced nation in Africa that is home to the exotic metal vibranium, the source of Black Panther's powers.