Even Combined, Thunderbolts* & Captain America: Brave New World's Box Office Is 42% Lower Than Deadpool & Wolverine's

Thunderbolts* and Captain America: Brave New World have struggled at the box office, and a comparison with ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine raises some troubling questions about the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Ryan Reynolds’ third ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool movie ended up being the only MCU flick to be released in 2024. Due to that, all the focus of Marvel fans was directly targeted toward the movie, which no doubt helped it become the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time.

However, that was definitely not the only factor that helped the film be so successful. I feel like comparing ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine to the MCU’s 2025 movies so far, Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts*, teaches quite a few lessons about what Marvel Studios seemingly has to do now to get box office hits. When I started to look into the films, with two out of the three being among the best MCU movies ever to me, I was shocked by just how huge their box office difference was.

How Thunderbolts* & Captain America: Brave New Worlds’ Box Offices Compare To ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine

The 2025 MCU Movies Fall Quite Short Of ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine

Sadly, Thunderbolts* and Captain America: Brave New World rank among the lowest-grossing MCU movies of all time. On the other end of the spectrum is ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine. Led by Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman in their MCU debut, ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine grossed $1.3 billion worldwide (via Box Office Mojo), becoming the 11th MCU movie to reach that coveted mark. Both 2025 entries in the Marvel franchise did not get close to that at all.

2024 & 2025 MCU Movies So Far (Box Office)
Movie	Domestic	International	Worldwide
ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine	$636,745,858	$701,327,787	$1,338,073,645
Captain America: Brave New World	$200,500,001	$214,601,576	$415,101,577
Thunderbolts* (Still in theaters)	$174,420,580	$182,998,204	$357,418,784

As can be seen in the table above, Captain America: Brave New World ranks a little higher than Thunderbolts* with a global total of $415.1 million. The MCU’s New Avengers — which was revealed in Thunderbolts*‘s post-credits scene — have grossed $357.4 million throughout their box office run so far. It is important to note that Thunderbolts* is still in theaters. That said, as it currently stands, the combined box office of the MCU’s first two 2025 movies is 42% lower than ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine‘s box office.

Why ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine’s Box Office Is So Much More Than Thunderbolts* & Captain America: Brave New World

Marvel Studios Finally Explored X-Men Characters In A Main Role

I believe there are quite a few factors that explain why ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine‘s box office total is quite higher than Thunderbolts* and Captain America: Brave New World combined. First up is the popularity of the movies’ lead characters. While Chris Evans’ Captain America was one of the pillars of the MCU, Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson has mostly been a supporting player in the franchise. As such, I always expected his first Captain America to have a lower box office, which can grow with sequels.

\n”‘};

window.arrayOfEmbedScripts[“instagram”] = “null”;

As for the Thunderbolts*, the team is made up of smaller characters from all over the MCU. While there are a couple of big-name anti-heroes and actors, the cast does not have the same appeal as Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman coming together again as comic book-accurate versions of ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool and Wolverine. The 2024 film also used the multiverse and nostalgia to its advantage, bringing back fan favorites like Chris Evans as the Human Torch. The MCU has suffered from superhero fatigue over the past few years, but ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine‘s R rating provided a unique experience for the franchise.

What Thunderbolts* & Captain America: Brave New Worlds’ Box Offices Mean For The MCU

The Franchise Might Never Be The Same In One Key Way

Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova looks directly at the camera in Thunderbolts poster

I fear that Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts*‘s disappointing box offices might be the new normal for the MCU. The Fantastic Four: First Steps has a chance to prove that theory wrong, as the film marks the first time Marvel Studios is behind the iconic team, and anticipation for the Fantastic Four is sky-high. That said, even if the final 2025 MCU movie is a box office hit. I still fear that smaller characters and teams will no longer have a good chance at the box office.

I feel like the days of properties like the Guardians of the Galaxy becoming a major box office draw have ended. I believe that Marvel will now have a streak of hits that will ease box office concerns, with huge events and returning fan-favorite characters in the form of the Fantastic Four’s debut, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and the upcoming Avengers movies. However, the rumored soft reboot of the MCU after Avengers: Secret Wars seems like the best bet to get main players back into the MCU, avoiding box office disappointments like Thunderbolts* and Captain America: Brave New World.