A Marvel Cinematic Universe movie that was released recently to a disappointing box office has now become a streaming hit. The MCU is getting ready to have two of its biggest years in history. While there are only three films confirmed for 2026 and 2027, they come from the MCU’s biggest franchises: Spider-Man and the Avengers.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Avengers: Doomsday, and Avengers: Secret Wars all have the potential to become $1 billion films, entering a select list with other major projects in the MCU movie franchise. When it comes to 2025’s Marvel movies, the studio has sadly had to struggle at the box office this year. However, a recent MCU movie is now a streaming hit.

Thunderbolts* has debuted on Disney+ to become one of the most-watched movies on the platform. The team-up film was released in theaters on May 2, arriving on the streaming service on August 27, 117 days later. Thunderbolts* is currently the 3rd most-watched movie on Disney+, only losing to LEGO Disney Princess: Villains Unite at 2nd and Incredibles 2 at 1st.

What Thunderbolts* Becoming A Hit On Disney+ Means

Thunderbolts* is one of the most important movies in the MCU’s Multiverse Saga. The film is responsible for solving one of the franchise’s biggest problems, as it introduces the team as Marvel Studios’ New Avengers, which was revealed to be the meaning behind the тιтle’s secretive asterisk. Additionally, Thunderbolts*‘s post-credits scene saw the Fantastic Four’s spaceship arrive in the MCU’s main universe.

Despite how important it is to the future of the MCU, Thunderbolts* was not able to translate that into a solid box office performance. Thunderbolts* finished its global box office run with only $382.4 million. That is why the streaming update is so exciting for the future of the team. As its box office shows, not many Marvel fans saw Thunderbolts* in theaters.

As such, there is an enormous potential for the film to find new life on streaming, where many will watch Thunderbolts* for the first time. With the film debuting 3rd on Disney+’s Top Ten Movies chart, Thunderbolts* is already a streaming hit. The real question now moves to how long that could last. More weeks on the chart can help its future chances.

Our Take On Thunderbolts* Becoming A Hit On Disney+

Any new Marvel release is bound to do well on streaming to some extent. Thunderbolts* is a movie with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 88%, beloved by fans and critics. As such, if it manages to find nice longevity on Disney+, the team’s popularity could get the boost it needs going into the next two Avengers movies.

Given the team’s name change to the New Avengers, it is clear that the characters from Thunderbolts* will be crucial to the next Avengers movies. Allied to a possible strong performance on streaming, judging off its debut, the team could get the needed boost for a Thunderbolts* sequel to happen despite the MCU movie’s box office woes.