‘Black Panther’: Every Record Broken So Far

Just four days after its release, it’s safe to say that Marvel’s Black Panther has already cemented itself as a cultural phenomenon.

Everywhere you look on social media, people are talking about Black Panther. Fans flooded the theaters over the weekend, posting pictures and videos of their experience seeing Ryan Coogler‘s superhero epic come to life.

In addition to the online hype, and the rave reviews from critics and fans, Black Panther has been a dominant performer in several different aspects of the box office. The film has set several records over the course of its opening weekend, and things don’t seem to be slowing down any time soon.

Take a look at every record Black Panther has found a way to break so far:

Most Presale Tickets for Any Superhero Movie

Right out of the gate, Black Panther set out to prove that it wasn’t coming to play.

Tickets on Fandango went live for presale and, within minutes, some theaters were already sold out. Black Panther quickly topped all other superhero movies in presales, but it didn’t stop there.

By the time the movie hit theaters last weekend, it was the number one Q1 preseller in history, topping Fifty Shades of Grey, The Hunger Games, Beauty and the Beast, and Deadpool.

Black Panther now sits as the fourth-biggest preseller in Fandango history, just behind three Star Wars films: The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and Rogue One.

Highest-Rated Superhero Movie on Rotten Tomatoes

Not only are the fans loving Black Panther, but the critics have taken to the film as well.

As of February 20, Black Panther is the highest-rated superhero movie on Rotten Tomatoes, scoring an unprecedented 97 percent on the Tomatometer. This tops hit superhero films like The Dark Knight (94%) and Logan (93%).

This score puts Black Panther firmly in the driver’s seat in terms of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The next closest film on the list is Iron Man (94%), followed by The Avengers, Spider-Man: Homecoming, and Thor: Ragnarok, all of which scored 93 percent.

Best Marvel IMAX Ticket Preseller

Not only was Black Panther a juggernaut in terms of standard presale tickets, but it dominated the IMAX game as well.

Just ahead of its release, IMAX CEO Greg Foster revealed that Black Panther presales were already crushing the competition, and that the the momentum wasn’t slowing down as opening day got closer.

“A movie often peaks 10 days before it opens,” Foster said. “This movie feels like it’s going to peak the day it opens. It’s remarkable.”

Best February Thursday Night Preview Box Office

Ever since theaters began airing multiple showings throughout Thursday nights, labelling it as a “preview,” the evening’s box office has been a solid metric in helping to determine the success of a movie’s entire opening weekend.

Of course, Black Panther was nothing short of spectacular on Thursday night.

With $25.2 million on the night, Black Panther demolished the previous February record for a Thursday night preview, which was set by Deadpool two years ago, with $12.7 million.

Black Panther went on to top Captain America: Civil War ($25 mil) as the second-biggest Marvel Thursday night, behind only Avengers: Age of Ultron ($27.6 mil).

Best Non-Team-Up Opening Day

While Thursday’s have become important in terms of collecting the overall box office numbers, Fridays are still considered the opening day for weekend films.

Black Panther hauled in an impressive $75 million plus day on Friday, making it the biggest non-team-up opening day in the history of superhero movies. The next closest solo adventure was 2013’s Iron Man 3, which earned $68.85 million.

As if conquering the world of solo films wasn’t enough, Black Panther‘s Friday outing also topped Captain America: Civil War, the movie that featured Chadwick Boseman’s debut as T’Challa. 

Best Opening Weekend in February History

This should come as no surprise, but Black Panther completely annihilated the record for biggest opening weekend in the month of February.

Deadpool set the February box office just two years ago, earning $132.4 million in its first three days. In that same time, Black Panther grossed an enormous $201 million. This even beats Deadpool’s four-day total, which stands at $152.1 million.

This three-day total is enough to propel Black Panther to the fifth biggest opening of all time. The only Marvel film to top Black Panther is The Avengers, which rocked its way to $207 million it its first weekend.

Biggest Opening Weekend for African-American Director

The $201.7 million three-day total was more than enough for Ryan Coogler to demolish the record for biggest opening weekend for a film with an African-American director.

F. Gary Gray set the record with last year’s Fate of the Furious, which debuted at $98 million in its first three days, and that was with the help of Vin Diesel, The Rock, and seven films to its name.

While Black Panther had the help of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it’s still a solo film, making all of these records even more impressive.

Biggest Monday Box Office of All Time

Black Panther had the added bonus of debuting on a holiday weekend, meaning that many schools and businesses were closed on Monday. 

Thanks to President’s Day, Black Panther was able to edge-out Star Wars: The Force Awakens as the highest-grossing Monday in box office history. JJ Abrams’ Star Wars film set the record in 2015, earning $40.11 million. Black Panther topped that yesterday with $40.176 million.

Over the course of it’s entire opening weekend, which includes Monday’s holiday total, Black Panther obliterated the box office with a whopping $242 million.