Black Panther Is Currently Rotten Tomatoes’ Highest-Rated Superhero Film

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Marvel’s Black Panther is now in theaters after spending more than two decades stuck in development hell, and it seems the wait was well worth it considering Black Panther is now the highest-rated superhero film on Rotten Tomatoes, with a critic score of 98 percent. The film comes from Creed director Ryan Coogler and screenwriter Joe Robert Cole, with Get On Up‘s Chadwick Boseman playing the iconic Wakandan protector, T’Challa, aka Black Panther.


Black Panther is already off to a strong start at the domestic box office, pulling in $25.2 million on Thursday night to top Deadpool‘s February preview record. But what audiences are waiting to see is how well it will do throughout the holiday weekend. Black Panther will top Deadpool‘s February opening record with an estimated 4-day haul of $200 million. The level of hype surrounding Black Panther is undoubtedly impressive, and part of that hype comes from the film being the highest-rated Marvel movie ever to release (that’s including all Marvel films). However, it seems that it’s not only the highest-rated Marvel movie but also the highest-rated superhero movie overall.


Rotten Tomatoes reports that Black Panther is currently the highest-rated superhero film of all-time on their website, with a current score of 98 percent. That narrowly beats 2004’s The Incredibles, which has a score of 97 percent, and it’s four percent higher than the nearest live-action competitors: The Dark Knight and Iron Man – both of which have 94 percent ratings.


As Rotten Tomatoes points out, Black Panther‘s score will continue to fluctuate throughout its theatrical run, but for now, it’s the highest-rated superhero film on the review-aggregate website. Even if it drops to 97 percent, that means it will still be tied with The Incredibles for the top spot. Plus, it will also retain the title of being the highest-rated live-action superhero film as well.


Taking into account how many superhero films are out there and just how long it’s been since the Marvel Cinematic Universe began, it’s impressive that the franchise’s 18th installment can release and surpass virtually everything that came before, even without the boost of having other Avengers in the film. And the fact that Black Panther has attained this goal while also being the MCU’s first movie with a black superhero in the lead speaks volumes. Hopefully, that means Marvel will prioritize a Black Panther sequel.


It’s also worth noting that, if Black Panther retains a 97/98 percent rating, it still might be toppled when Brad Bird’s The Incredibles 2 hits theaters this summer. After all, it was the first movie that topped the ratings, and if any movie can surpass The Incredibles, it’s the sequel.