By the end of Friday, Tomb Raider had secured enough of a lead over Black Panther to claim the top spot with a little over $9 million but those who have been following the numbers may feel a pinch of deja vu from last week. Indeed, Ava DuVernay's wondrous yet indistinct A Wrinkle in Time had the leg up on Marvel's mammoth blockbuster last Friday and ended up losing the lead by Sunday. A similar fate could very well await Tomb Raider, especially considering the fact that less than $2 million separates the new release from Black Panther's $7.5 million take on Friday to land in second place.

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Image via Marvel Studios

The remake wasn't the only new release to make its mark in the top five. As is often the case with egregiously self-important and pious movies about how Christianity is the best, Roadside Attractions' I Can Only Imagine seemingly came out of nowhere to land in number three with $6.2 million, no doubt bolstered by the popularity of the hit song that gives the movie its name. Right below that is Love, Simon, a refreshingly measured and genuinely empathetic look at a gay teenager preparing to leave the closet behind, with $4.6 million, which just narrowly beat out A Wrinkle in Time with $4.5 million to take fourth place.

This is a tight race across the board, to the point that it's almost certain that the top five will not look the same by the time the weekend estimates come in tomorrow. Less than $2 million separates all these films from their closest rivals with the exception of A Wrinkle in Time, which has a sizable lead ahead of Game Night in the number six spot. Still, the big race remains between the top two and given the mixed reviews for Tomb Raider, another triumph for Black Panther is a real possibility. And not for nothing, if one were to bet on the most substantive big-studio film in wide release to win, the smart money would still be on Ryan Coogler's masterwork to win over its top-five peers.

Here's your top five at the Friday box office:

Title

Friday Domestic BO

Total Domestic BO

1. ‘Tomb Raider’

$9,055,000

$9,055,000

2. ’Black Panther’

$7,520,000

$585,896,528

3. ‘I Can Only Imagine’

$6,230,000

$6,230,000

4. ‘Love, Simon’

$4,600,000

$4,600,000

5. ‘A Wrinkle in Time’

$4,599,000

$49,093,654

i-can-only-imagine-image
Image via Roadside Attractions
a-wrinkle-in-time-storm-reid-reese-witherspoon
Image via Disney
love-simon-nick-robinson-4
Image via 20th Century Fox