The MCU’s Thunderbolts* was released in May 2025, but was the film a box office flop? Thunderbolts* was the second Marvel movie released in 2025, after Captain America: Brave New World. Despite the former being considered one of the best Marvel movies in years, when the latter was not, the two are somewhat connected via box office results.

Recently, a negative Marvel box office trend has been evident. Thunderbolts* was only one of many victims of this trend, with the MCU film not breaking any records at the box office, regardless of its incredibly strong critical and audience reviews. With all that in mind, the question of whether Thunderbolts* was a true box office flop is an important one.

The MCU’s Thunderbolts* Box Office Results Give It One Of The Franchise’s Lowest Box Offices

Firstly, it is worth exploring the box office receipts that Thunderbolts* received during its theatrical run. The film was produced on a $180 million budget. This means that, when taking into account marketing and distribution costs, as well as any other fees, Thunderbolts* needed to earn a minimum of $360 million to begin turning a profit.

At the end of its theatrical run, Thunderbolts* received a worldwide box office haul of $382,436,365. This means that the film may have just produced a profit for Marvel Studios, but it will not have been a significant return on investment. With this box office total, Thunderbolts* ranks as one of the lowest-grossing MCU movies of all time.

Based on these box office numbers for Thunderbolts*, it would not be overly unfair to label the film as a flop. It was certainly not as big a disappointment as the likes of The Marvels or The Incredible Hulk, but Thunderbolts* likely failed to provide much in the way of profit for Marvel Studios.

Why The Thunderbolts* Box Office Results Are So Low

With these numbers in mind, the question of why Thunderbolts* earned so little at the box office is raised. Perhaps the main reason for this was an overall feeling of superhero fatigue, especially on the Marvel Studios side of things. Since 2019 and the release of Avengers: Endgame, many have felt that the MCU has not been as consistent in quality.

The franchise’s expanded slate of movies and TV shows has caused a great deal of fatigue, with general audiences growing tired of the need to go into each project with “homework.” This has been reflected in the MCU’s box office receipts of the last few years.

Since 2023, the likes of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, The Marvels, Captain America: Brave New World, and Thunderbolts* have failed at the box office. This is without mentioning other low earners in the MCU since 2019, like Black Widow, Eternals, and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

The MCU has struggled to maintain its quality and audience reception over the last few years, with Thunderbolts*’ box office returns offering more evidence to support this.

Even beyond the general disillusionment audiences feel for the MCU of late, Thunderbolts*‘ story, cast, and marketing did not necessarily help it succeed. The positive reviews from critics and fans should arguably have driven more people to theaters than they did, but the marketing did not do enough to sell people on what Thunderbolts* actually was.

Thunderbolts*’ cast of characters comprised of lesser-known Marvel heroes who had previously appeared in TV shows or lesser-seen movies, again reinforcing that idea of “homework.” The film also had the marketing twist of The New Avengers reveal, but this came too late for general audiences to care enough.

Overall, there were several reasons as to why Thunderbolts* failed to perform commercially in a way Marvel Studios hoped for.

It could be argued that the film, had it been released 10 years earlier, would have been a success. However, in 2025, the overall feeling towards the MCU, the lack of strong marketing, and the timing of its release in relation to all this saw Thunderbolts* underperform.

The Reviews & Streaming Success Of Thunderbolts* Challenge The Idea That It’s AFlop

Despite the disappointing box office run for Thunderbolts*, there are some positives ᴀssociated with the movie. These positives could provide the argument that Thunderbolts* isn’t a flop after all, from its reviews to its streaming success. Starting with the former, I have already alluded to the way Thunderbolts* was received by fans and critics alike.

The critical score on Rotten Tomatoes for Thunderbolts* was 88%, with the audience rating sitting at 93%. This proves just how much the film resonated with those who did watch it. In recent years, the same cannot be said for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, The Marvels, or Captain America: Brave New World, all of which were reviewed poorly.

In August 2025, Thunderbolts* was released on Disney+. Very quickly, the MCU film became the third-most-viewed movie on the entire streaming service, falling behind only Incredibles 2 and LEGO Disney Princess: Villains Unite.

With such streaming success, Thunderbolts*‘ disappointing box office total will likely become slightly less bruising for Marvel Studios. Combined with the strong reaction from those who did catch the film in theaters or on streaming, Thunderbolts* may not have been an outright flop for the MCU, regardless of its underwhelming box office run.