The Marvel Cinematic Universe‘s box office after Avengers: Endgame shows what kind of projects the franchise should aim for in the future. It is hard to measure a film’s success by the last Avengers movie’s standards. Not only was Avengers: Endgame one of the MCU’s best movies, but it became the highest-grossing film of all time for a certain period.
Most MCU films will never have a sH๏τ at that, as they are not the culmination of all that came before, like the biggest of the MCU’s Avengers movies was. That said, Marvel used to have a pattern when it came to the box office, but the Multiverse Saga broke that. The MCU’s upcoming movies now have to fix it.
That can be done by looking back at what worked and did not for the films released since Avengers: Endgame. There are some lessons in them that can help the studio plan its releases around what could make them successful. With that in mind, here are all the MCU’s post-Avengers: Endgame movies so far ranked by box office:
14
The Marvels
Total Box Office: $199,706,250
Sadly, The Marvels became the MCU’s biggest box office bomb. I was shocked by just how much it fell after Captain Marvel‘s respectable gross.
The Marvel’s post-credits scene should like directly to the X-Men’s return in Avengers: Doomsday.
The team-up film could not get anywhere near Captain Marvel‘s $1.13 billion (via Box Office Mojo). The Marvels had an exciting trio of heroes, Nick Fury, teases about the MCU’s future, and more.
Still, it did not succeed. Perhaps the lackluster villain, creative choices like the singing planet, and connections to MCU shows bogged it down.
13
Black Widow
Total Box Office: $379,751,131
The MCU took too long to release a movie for Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow. When it did so, Natasha Romanoff was already ᴅᴇᴀᴅ.
Black Widow‘s box office performance was impacted by a simultaneous release on Disney+’s Premiere Access.
Still, I had a lot of fun with Black Widow. The movie introduced concepts and characters who would be important to the franchise for years.
Black Widow‘s box office performance was impacted by a simultaneous release on Disney+’s Premiere Access. Thankfully, Marvel learned its lesson after the controversial release.
12
Thunderbolts*
Total Box Office: $381,317,318
Thunderbolts*‘s box office being a disappointment was shocking. The movie was one of the franchise’s best-reviewed films. Thunderbolts* also had a New Avengers twist.
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Despite those positive aspects, the film is still on the way to being one of Marvel’s lowest-grossing movies. The obscure characters could not become box office headliners this time.
I feel like Thunderbolts* got hurt by Captain America: Brave New World disappointing fans a few months before. Its lesser-known heroes also impacted the film’s performance.
11
Eternals
Total Box Office: $401,731,759
Eternals is one of the MCU’s most distinct movies. Sadly, it did not have the wide appeal that Marvel thought it could have.
Boasting popular stars like Game Of Thrones‘ Kit Harington and Angelina Jolie, Eternals tried to do too much at once.
The film’s many characters could not all be serviced equally. Eternals was incredibly ambitious, but like Ikaris, it flew too close to the sun.
10
Captain America: Brave New World
Total Box Office: $413,640,021
The first of the MCU’s 2025 movies made Sam Wilson a movie star. Sadly, Captain America: Brave New World could not accomplish much more.
|
Every MCU Avengers Movie |
|
|---|---|
|
Movie |
Release Year |
|
The Avengers |
2012 |
|
Avengers: Age of Ultron |
2015 |
|
Avengers: Infinity War |
2018 |
|
Avengers: Endgame |
2019 |
|
Avengers: Doomsday |
2026 |
|
Avengers: Secret Wars |
2027 |
The film tried to go for Captain America: The Winter Soldier‘s formula. However, its Hulk-heavy plot — with no Hulk — felt out of place.
Had the focus been on Sam Wilson the whole time, I believe the Captain America movie could have succeeded. Still, it set up Sam’s new Avengers team.
9
Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings
Total Box Office: $432,224,634
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was an exciting addition to the MCU. It had some of Marvel’s best fight scenes.
Still, with the movie industry still suffering from the pandemic, Shang-Chi’s MCU debut faltered. A sequel would likely do better, and Marvel has one in development.
The film introduced the Ten Rings, incredibly powerful artifacts. With Shang-Chi’s return in Avengers: Doomsday, they could help Marvel’s heroes against Doctor Doom.
8
Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania
Total Box Office: $476,073,180
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania was one of the MCU’s biggest disappointments. The movie introduced Kang the Conqueror as the Multiverse Saga’s main villain.
However, he was defeated in an underwhelming way. That, alongside problems like bad CGI and boring subplots, led to it becoming the lowest-grossing Ant-Man movie.
With Quantumania underperforming, Marvel was likely more inclined to move on from Kang than recast the role after Jonathan Majors’ firing. Now, we have Doctor Doom in the MCU.
7
Thor: Love and Thunder
Total Box Office: $760,928,081
Chris Hemsworth’s latest Thor movie was not his best. Thor: Love and Thunder leaned too heavily on its comedic elements, hurting two important storylines.
I feel the movie could have neared $1 billion if the Jane Foster cancer story and Gorr the God Butcher’s quest to kill gods had been developed better.
Sadly, we will never know. With Thor back for Avengers: Doomsday, a tonal change for the hero is expected. Thor 5, which Hemsworth wants to do, would follow suit.
6
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3
Total Box Office: $845,555,777
From this point on are only bona fide MCU hits. I think Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 is the best entry in the cosmic franchise.
The Guardians of the Galaxy movie did a perfect job of ending the team’s journey. Rocket Raccoon’s backstory was spotlighted with a sharp focus.
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 set up a new version of the team and Star-Lord’s MCU future. It is a poignant finale and the start of something new at the same time.
5
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Total Box Office: $859,208,836
It is true that Black Panther: Wakanda Forever made less than its predecessor. However, its box office numbers were still respectable.
Black Panther was a cultural phenomenon. As such, it would be impossible to replicate the film’s success with the sequel. Still, Marvel delivered a layered and emotional story.
Shuri’s transformation into the MCU’s new Black Panther and Namor’s war with Wakanda were thrilling. The film is also a showcase of successful world-building.
