It’s admittedly scary that we’re still marking “firsts” for Black women in 2021.

That said, “Candyman” — a refreshed reboot of a 1992 horror movie staple directed by Nia DaCosta — has become the first-ever film directed by a Black woman to debut at no. 1. And with a grand total of $22.4 million made, it’s also one of the highest-grossing openers for a movie made by a Black woman, Deadline reports.

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Others, including “Selma” and “A Wrinkle in Time” director Ava DuVernay, have come close, but ultimately opened in second place.

The successful opening weekend of “Candyman” came as a surprise to many, as concerns over the Delta variant of Covid-19 continue to impact all facets of life, including movie-going. That, and the end of August is not usually a major movie-going time for Americans, even in the best of times.

But DaCosta’s daring remake pulled it off. Considering her debut film, “Little Woods,” was an award-winning film festival darling, perhaps no one should be surprised at all.

Better still, blockbusters appear to feature big in DaCosta’s future as well — she’s already slated to direct Marvel’s superhero sequel “The Marvels.” And at 31 years old, she’ll be breaking another record as the youngest person to ever direct a Marvel movie.

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