One MCU statistic shows just how different the franchise’s numbers have been after Avengers: Endgame. The MCU’s Phase 1 proved the shared universe concept could work, but it was Phase 2 and Phase 3 that cemented Marvel’s dominance. With multiple billion-dollar hits, Marvel turned superhero films into global cultural events unmatched by any other studio.

Since Phase 4, however, Marvel dramatically increased its output across movies and Disney+ shows. While this expansion kept the brand highly visible, Marvel’s box office numbers didn’t reflect the consistency of earlier phases. Many projects underperformed, and only a couple of them broke the $1 billion barrier.

Only Three Of Marvel Studios’ Post-Endgame Movies Have Reached The $1 Billion Mark

From 2008’s Iron Man to 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, the Marvel Cinematic Universe added eight $1 billion blockbusters to its library. All Avengers movies and Captain America: Civil War, plus three solo movies, crossed the $1 billion mark within eleven years. Three of the MCU’s $1 billion blockbusters were released consecutively during this time: Avengers: Infinity War, Captain Marvel, and Avengers: Endgame.

Remarkably, only three of the MCU’s $1 billion movies have been released after Avengers: Endgame. Spider-Man: Far From Home, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine crossed $1 billion in 2019, 2021, and 2024, respectively. Moreover, Spider-Man: Far From Home belongs to the Infinity Saga’s Phase 3. So, technically, only two Multiverse Saga movies have reached $1 billion.

Two billion-dollar movies in the Multiverse Saga against nine billion-dollar Infinity Saga movies is quite the difference. Although, to their credit, Spider-Man: No Way Home was released coming out of the pandemic, and ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine was released after the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strikes. Had the circumstances been different, they had a sH๏τ at the $2 billion mark.

Three $1 Billion Solo Movies Prove Not Only Crossovers Can Be Box Office Hits

Spider-Man: No Way Home and ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine are both multiversal crossover events, which certainly played a key role in their box office success. Years before, the crossover nature of the Avengers movies and Captain America: Civil War gave them a huge headstart. Nonetheless, not all billion-dollar Marvel hits are team-up movies.

Iron Man 3 benefited from The Avengers‘ success, Black Panther from that of Captain America: Civil War, and Captain Marvel from Avengers: Infinity War‘s. However, each of these solo movies was also a big standalone event. Iron Man 3 was the final installment of Tony Stark’s trilogy, while Black Panther and Captain Marvel were the debut movies of two MCU icons.

If the Multiverse Saga had a similar structure to the Infinity Saga, the MCU could have had better numbers. Solo movies like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Shang-Chi would have benefited from a stronger link to neighboring team-up movies. On the bright side, Marvel’s negative box office trend may be reversed just in time for a fresh start in Phase 7.