2012’s The Avengers is now a beloved $1 billion+ movie in the MCU, and Scarlett Johansson’s comments about producing it only make this an even more impressive feat. As only the sixth movie in the MCU’s release order, The Avengers faced a lot of pressure. The five movies preceding it were mostly well-liked, but it was The Avengers’ success that allowed the MCU to become the sprawling franchise it is today. Without The Avengers, the upcoming Marvel movies so many are looking forward to would not have been possible.
Thankfully, Marvel’s The Avengers was a hit, allowing movies over 10 years down the line, like the story of Avengers: Doomsday, to expand on the universe it helped create. Moreover, the cast of 2012’s The Avengers was vital in introducing long-standing members of the MCU who have solidified their characters as franchise favorites. One such star was Scarlett Johansson who played Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow from 2010’s Iron Man 2 to 2021’s Black Widow. Interestingly, Johansson’s comments about The Avengers only further solidify how impressive its success truly was.
The Avengers Is Still One Of The MCU’s Highest-Grossing Movies To This Day
Despite Being 13 Years Old
Firstly, it is worth providing evidence of just how well The Avengers performed. Before exploring its commercial success, it remains the case that The Avengers is still one of the best-received MCU movies regarding its critical and audience reception. The movie has a 91% approval rating from fans and critics alike on Rotten Tomatoes and an 8/10 IMDb rating, the latter being the fifth highest in the entire franchise. Commercially, The Avengers matched these high numbers.
|
Movie |
International Box Office Total |
Domestic Box Office Total |
Worldwide Box Office Total |
|---|---|---|---|
|
The Avengers |
$895,455,078 |
$623,357,910 |
$1,518,812,988 |
As evident by these box office figures, The Avengers was an unprecedented success for Marvel Studios. Before the film, the highest-grossing entry in the MCU was Iron Man 2, with a worldwide total of just over $600 million. The Avengers doubled that and then some, proving to be the first in the franchise to cross the $1 billion mark. Not only that, but even 13 years and 30 movies later, The Avengers is still the fourth highest-grossing MCU movie of all time, sitting only behind Avengers: Endgame, Avengers: Infinity War, and Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Scarlett Johansson’s 2025 The Avengers Comments Are A Reminder That The Avengers’ Success Wasn’t So Obvious Before Its Release, Even To The Cast
The Avengers Somehow Exceeded All Expectations
In light of this staggering success, The Avengers‘ becomes even more impressive when hearing about how its cast members felt about the production. Scarlett Johansson recently opened up to Variety (via Collider) about her experience on the set of 2012’s The Avengers, stating that, at the time, neither she nor her costars knew the success it would go on to have. Johansson pointed out that all previous MCU movies were successful, but each had its own individual tone that might not mesh well together.
Johansson then went on to comment about adding in more characters beyond this, such as Hawkeye and even a recast Hulk. When exploring how she and her costars felt at the time, Johansson stated:
“It just felt like a big mess to be honest. Even on the set, it felt crazy. We all looked insane. What are we doing? I don’t think anybody knew if it was going to work or not besides Kevin Feige and Joss Whedon. The cast had blind faith in them.”
These comments only reinforce just how wild The Avengers’ success is. Much like the original Star Wars, even those involved in the production did not foresee much success stemming from The Avengers, aside from Feige and Whedon.
Scarlett Johansson’s 2025 The Avengers Comments Make Its Success Seem Even More Impressive
The Avengers Was Only The Beginning, But That Was Not Always A Given
Writing this article in 2025, and even those reading it, we can look back on The Avengers and almost take advantage of its success. After all, that movie allowed the MCU to become what it is today. We are so far removed from that movie that it is almost viewed retroactively as a fixed point that was always there to be successful and spawn the wider franchise. At the time, though, The Avengers and its success was not a foregone conclusion.
This only makes its overwhelming success even more impressive than it already was. As proven by Johansson, The Avengers was never a guaranteed hit. Thankfully, though, Feige and his team at the time had a vision that became a reality, driven purely by the 2012 film, and solidifying that the early victories of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes are wild in a way we take for granted in 2025.
