• by Wayne Friedman , February 21, 2018

Walt Disney spent significant media dollars on national TV advertising for its Marvel action movie “Black Panther.” Over $37 million in national TV advertising was placed for the movie to date, according to iSpot.tv.

According to Disney company estimates, the Marvel-produced movie earned a massive $235 million in U.S. box-office revenues over the holiday weekend, making “Black Panther” the fifth movie to debut earning more than $200 million for its opening weekend.

Major networks that have benefited so far include NBC, with $9.3 million; ABC, with $6.3 million; ESPN, with $5.0 million; CBS, with $2.6 million; Nickelodeon, with $1.3 million; and Fox, with $1.1 million.

In terms of actual airings of national TV commercials for the movie, Disney XD was tops at 380, followed by Disney Channel at 342; Nickelodeon, 195; Cartoon Network, 192; NickToons, 178; NBA TV, 165, ESPN, 163; Freeform, 137; BET, 120; and E!, 118. Total national TV airings are now at 3,473.

The national TV campaign began in earnest in late December -- with NFL Football programming and the College Football Playoff series getting major media buys. More recently, there was major ad exposure for the movie during the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.