Released a couple of years ago,The Marvelsmarked something of a nadir for the once-infallible Marvel Cinematic Universe. It emerged as the franchise’s first outright bomb. The writing, unfortunately, was already on the wall. A few days before the film’s release, Marvel put out a trailer highlighting its connections toAvengers: Endgame, one of the highest-grossing films of all time. Eventually,The Marvelsbecame the series' first film to not recover its reported production budget, and the first that failed to crack the $100 million mark domestically. Its performance was so poor thatThunderbolts*, the franchise’s latest installment, has already out-grossed it twice over.
With $160 million at the domestic box officein just 20 days of release,Thunderboltshas generated roughly twice as much asThe Marvels' $84 million lifetime domestic haul.The Marvelsjust about managed to pass the $200 million milestone worldwide, whileThunderbolts, on the other hand, is currently sitting at $331 million globally. Directed byJake Schreier,Thunderbolts*was produced on a reported budget of $180 million, which happens to be on the lower end of the spectrum when it comes to the genre. By comparison,The Marvels was reported to have cost over $260 million to produce.
What made its failure all the more spectacular was the fact that its predecessor,Captain Marvel, cracked the $1 billion mark worldwide. But the theatrical landscape has changed drastically since then, especially for the MCU, which, despite everything, remains the biggest movie franchise in history. In the last five years, the MCU has produced underperformers such asAnt-Man and the Wasp: QuantumaniaandCaptain America: Brave New World. It’s hoping to course-correct with the upcomingThe Fantastic Four: First Steps, which leads into next year’sAvengers: Doomsday.
‘Thunderbolts*’ Opened to Positive Reviews
Thunderbolts*introduces a brand-new team of superheroes to the series, although several characters have appeared in past films, such asBlack Widowand the Disney+ showThe Falcon and the Winter Soldier. The movie is headlined byFlorence Pughand has been having a solid run at the box office thanks to excellent reviews and a positive audience response. It holds an 88%Rotten Tomatoes scoreand an even better 94% audience score.In his review, Collider’sRoss Bonaimedescribed it as “one of the most enjoyable, fun, and genuinely moving MCU films sinceEndgame.” You can watch the movie in theaters, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
Thunderbolts*
Thunderbolts follows a group of unconventional superheroes who emerge in a world without the Avengers. As this new team bands together, they navigate complex missions and moral dilemmas, seeking to establish themselves as protectors while uncovering hidden threats that could jeopardize global safety and stability.
