Every Record Black Panther Has Broken

Marvel’s Black Panther is finally hitting theaters after spending 24 years in development hell, and it looks like it was well worth the wait. Black Panther – directed by Ryan Coogler and written by Joe Robert Cole, and starring Chadwick Boseman as the eponymous character – is being hailed as one of the best MCU films to date. And with a current Rotten Tomatoes score of 97 percent, Black Panther is one of the highest-rated superhero films of all-time.

Taking those reviews into account, as well as all of the hype that’s been building since T’Challa’s debut in Captain America: Civil War, it’s clear that Black Panther is on its way to box office glory. At the moment, Black Panther is on track for a $165+ million debut at the U.S. box office. That puts it ahead of many films on the domestic chart and in the running to set multiple new records.

BLACK PANTHER IS HIGHEST-RATED MARVEL MOVIE
Black Panther is now the highest-rated Marvel movie of all-time (according to Rotten Tomatoes). That includes all Marvel films, not just ones from Marvel Studios. It’s currently sitting at 97 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, with Jon Favreau’s Iron Man in second place at 94 percent and James Mangold’s Logan in third place at 93 percent. Joss Whedon’s The Avengers, Taika Waititi’s Thor: Ragnarok, and Jon Watts’ Spider-Man: Homecoming are all tied in fourth place at 92 percent. Although Black Panther‘s ratings may fluctuate when the film releases, it should maintain its lead above all the other Marvel movies.

BLACK PANTHER TICKET PRESALES PASS ALL SUPERHERO FILMS
Ticket presales are used by box office analysts to track how well a movie will perform over the course of its opening weekend. Considering that Black Panther was originally expected to hit $90 million in the U.S. and is now tracking for more than $170 million, it’s safe to say that presales are not only high but they continue to tick higher as the film’s release date nears. On Fandango, Black Panther is outpacing all superhero films – particularly Marvel and DC films – for most ticket presales. The previous record-holder was Zack Snyder’s Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, which opened to $166 million at the domestic box office in March 2016.

As if that wasn’t enough, Black Panther is also leading in ticket presales on Fandango for all first quarter films (January through March). That includes recent blockbuster releases such as 2012’s The Hunger Games and 2017’s Beauty and the Beast. Considering that superhero movies tend to lead the pack, though, that record may not be as surprising as Black Panther edging out all other superhero films. The question is, how will Avengers: Infinity War do against Black Panther‘s numbers?

BLACK PANTHER IMAX TICKET PRESALES AHEAD OF ALL MARVEL FILMS
On top of already surpassing every superhero movie on Fandango, Black Panther is also leading in IMAX ticket presales. IMAX’s chief recently mentioned that presale tickets for superhero movies tend to peak about 10 days prior to release, but Black Panther isn’t expected to peak until it hits theaters. While he didn’t say how many tickets have been sold thus far, he did say that Black Panther is currently outpacing every Marvel movie for IMAX ticket presales. That most likely includes non-MCU films as well. It’ll be interesting to see how Black Panther‘s IMAX sales stack up against not only the rest of the MCU but to DC films and all other blockbusters as well.