Last Updated: March 25

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 , 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.

This Page: All the Records Black Panther Broke Before its Release

Black Panther is Highest-Rated Superhero 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 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.

Update: With a continuous score of 97/98 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, Black Panther is currently the highest-rated superhero film of all-time on the review-aggregate website, suring 2004's The Incredibles (97%).

Black Panther Ticket Presales 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 Avengers: Infinity War do against Black Panther's numbers?

Black Panther IMAX Ticket Presales Ahead Of All Marvel Films

On top of already suring 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.

Black Panther Sets February Thursday Night Previews Record

Black Panther got off to a strong start thanks to its Thursday night previews. The film raked in a hefty sum of $25.2 million at the U.S. box office on February 15, not only doubling Deadpool's previous February preview record of $12.7 million but also becoming one of the highest-grossing previews ever for a superhero film. Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice ($27.7 million), and the aforementioned Avengers film.

Black Panther Opening Day Gross Tops All Non-Team-Up Films

Black Panther continued to rake in big bucks following its preview night. On opening day - Friday, February 17 - Black Panther grossed an estimated $75.81 million, thus topping Deadpool's $47.3 million to set a new February opening day record. But that's not what's most impressive about that number. Iron Man 3 ($68.85 million).

Black Panther Sets February Opening Weekend Record

After topping the competition on Thursday and Friday, Black Panther went all the way and set a new box office record, one that most likely won't be topped for a long time to come. Star Wars: The Last Jedi ($220 million), and Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($247.96 million).

It's worth noting that Black Panther's numbers are currently estimates, and the actual figures (which usually arrive Monday morning but may be delayed to Tuesday because of the holiday weekend) might come in higher, thus giving it a chance of breaking the $200 million threshold. Update: Black Panther's official opening weekend gross came in at $201.7 million.

Black Panther Has Biggest Opening For an African-American Director

Black Panther's 3-day opening weekend gross of $201.7 million is by far the biggest opening for a film by an African-American director. Ryan Coogler bested the competition by a long shot; the previous record-holder was F. Gary Gray's The Fate of the Furious, which opened to $98 million at the domestic box office in April 2017. Suffice to say, Coogler is going to hold onto that record for a long time considering that the film broke $200 million already.

Black Panther Sets Monday Box Office Record

Thanks in part to Monday, February 19 being a holiday in the U.S., Black Panther's unbelievable box office streak continued with a record-breaking Monday gross of $40.176 million at the domestic box office. That number puts Black Panther barely above J.J. Abrams' 2015 film, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and The Force Awakens (again) are now in third and fourth place with $32 million and $31.36 million, respectively.

Black Panther Has Marvel's Highest Tuesday Gross Ever

Black Panther continued to pull in big bucks on Tuesday, February 20 - the film's first day at the box office that wasn't part of President's Day weekend. Black Panther grossed $21.07 million, thus topping The Avengers' former record of $17.6 million from 2012. That number also gives the film the highest-grossing, pre-summer Tuesday ever, beating Beauty and the Beast's gross of $17.8 million from 2017. Star Wars: The Force Awakens still holds the record for highest-grossing Tuesday with $37.36 million, with Black Panther falling in 10th place on the all-time chart.

Black Panther Scores Marvel's Biggest Wednesday Ever

Black Panther continued its streak of scoring the highest-grossing Monday and Tuesdays ever for Marvel Studios by also nabbing the studio's highest-grossing Wednesday as well. Black Panther earned $14.5 million on Wednesday, February 21, thus ing The Avengers' previous record of $13.6 million. With that, the film is on the verge of ing $500 million at the worldwide box office, thus putting it on-track to hit $1 billion globally.