Marvel Studios’ Black Panther continues to perform beyond our expectations at the box office.

Marvel’s 18th film is able to tell a beautiful story that uses social issues as themes, and it still remembers that it is a superhero film. So it weaves in those real-world themes with some fantastic comic book sequences. All of that coming from the young Ryan Coogler, who made his directorial debut with the Sundance drama Fruitvale Station and then followed it up with the compelling Creed. Black Panther is Coogler’s third directing effort, and he shows no signs of slowing down.

In light of the film’s success, one would think that it would inflate a filmmaker’s ego. But not Coogler. The director expressed his gratitude to the fans helping make Black Panther a huge success. Read the letter below.

There’s simply no need to break down the letter, that would simply take away from what Coogler is trying to express. The letter was posted on Twitter, which you can see below. But just in case you cannot read the letter in the embedded tweet, here’s the text:

I am struggling to find the words to express my gratitude at this moment, but I will try.

Filmmaking is a team sport. And our team was made up amazing people from all over the world who believed in this story. Deep down we all hoped that people would come see a film about a fictional country on the continent of Africa, made up of people of African descent.

Never in a million years did we imagine that you all would come out this strong. It still humbles me to think that people care enough to spend their money and time watching our film “” but to see people of all backgrounds wearing clothing that celebrates their heritage, taking pictures next to our posters with their friends and family, and sometimes dancing in the lobbies of theaters “” moved me and my wife to tears.

For all the people who bought out theaters, who posted on social about how lit the film would be, bragged about our awesome cast, picked out outfits to wear, and who stood in line in theaters all over the world “” all before even seeing the film”¦

To the press who wrote about the film for the folks who hadn’t seen it, and encouraged audiences to come out”¦

And to the young ones, who came out with their parents, with their mentors, and with their friends”¦

Thank you for giving our team of filmmakers the greatest gift: The opportunity to share this film, that we poured our hearts and souls into, with you.

Sincerely,

Ryan Coogler

Black Panther has already made more than Justice League‘s total box office in its four-day run, and outperformed Star Wars: The Last Jedi. It broke the record for the highest domestic grossing film for a Monday. As of this post, the film has grossed $242 million dollars domestically, and $184 million dollars internationally, for a total of $426 million.

The film is out in theaters now. Be sure to read our review and all our coverage on the film.

#WakandaForever pic.twitter.com/CmJySoHFjB

— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) February 21, 2018