DURHAM -- Hollywood is about to undergo a seismic shift with the influence of the African-American culture.

The films "Black Panther," "A Wrinkle in Time," and the Oscar-nominated "My Nephew Emmett," are expected to bring in hundreds of millions of dollars.

One thing that all of these movies have in common is they feature African-Americans in front and behind the cameras.

"It means for us that black folk have a seat at the table in regards to cultural relevance," said W. Russell Robinson, an assistant professor at North Carolina Central University.

But some industry insiders see this as more of a blip.

"You have one filmmaker here, and one filmmaker there doing well is not enough to make a black film ecosystem," said Lana Garland, who's overseeing a black film festival at the Hayti Heritage Center in Durham.

"You don't end the conversation after you go to the theater. You come to the programs that are being created for this black film ecosystem that's about to jump off," she adds, saying more needs to be done.

But others argue it is a seismic shift in Hollywood. The films are expected to inspire the black community.

"So to see that now at this grand scale, means a lot...we can't get off the accelerator one bit," said Robinson.

"We really can do anything because we're getting our own movie," says Jada Taylor, a student at North Carolina Central University.