Black Panther most anticipated Marvel film ever according to advance ticket sales

The film overtook previous record holder Captain America: Civil War in first day of pre-sales

Black Panther is on track to become one of the biggest ever Marvel films going by its ticket pre-sales.

Fandango has reported that in its first 24 hours alone, the film - directed by Ryan Coogler - overtook Captain America: Civil War to sell more advance tickets than any other film released in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

In fact, so hectic were the opening day sales that one of the film's stars - 12 Years a Slave Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong'o - failed to acquire tickets.

While the record has only been smashed on Fandango, it should be noted that previous record holder Civil War went on to acquire the biggest ticket sales for any superhero film of all time on this particular site.

Black Panther's pre-sale success will most likely be emulated on other sites signalling that, upon its release, it could smash opening weekend estimates of $90m (£66.8m). If this is the case, the film may even soar past Deadpool's $132m (£97.9m) to become the highest-grossing February release of all time globally.

Many believe that Black Panther will signal the start of the MCU's long-mooted second phase with its exploration of Wakanda, the fictional home to the warrior king T'Challa, played by Chadwick Boseman.

Starring alongside Nyong'o and Boseman are an impressive ensemble including Michael B. Jordan, Forrest Whitaker, Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright, Martin Freeman, Andy Serkis and The Walking Dead star Danai Gurira. It will be Marvel's first film to be led by a person of colour.

Black Panther will be released in the UK on 12 February. Its US release arrives a week later (18 February).

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