Both the Marvel Cinematic Universe and DC Universe have had a big 2025, and here are the rankings for the box office receipts of each major superhero movie of the year. In many ways, 2025 was a turning point for both behemoth superhero franchises. Marvel Studios released two of the best-ranked MCU movies in years, while the DCU officially began.
Thunderbolts* and The Fantastic Four: First Steps were a return to form for the MCU, setting up some huge upcoming Marvel movies in the process. On the other side of the superhero pond, Superman marked the first official installment of the DCU’s Chapter One: Gods and Monsters.
Therefore, with these projects having such a big impact on the future of Marvel and upcoming DC movies, both studios were hoping for a successful 2025 at the box office. With that in mind, here are the major superhero movie releases from 2025 ranked by their worldwide box office totals.
Thunderbolts*
Ranking as the lowest-grossing superhero movie of 2025 is Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts*. Thunderbolts* was produced on a budget of $180,000,000, ending its theatrical run with a worldwide total of $382,436,365, the lowest of the year. Thunderbolts*‘ domestic total was $190,274,328, with the film pulling in $192,162,037 overseas.
With such a total, Thunderbolts* likely turned a small profit. Per the general rule of thumb that Hollywood blockbusters must earn double their production budget to break even, Thunderbolts*‘ threshold was around $360,000,000. Nonetheless, whatever profits Thunderbolts* did earn could not have been significant.
This is admittedly ironic, given that Thunderbolts* was the best-reviewed superhero movie of 2025 by fans and critics alike. The film sits at an 88% critical approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the audience score reaching 93%. These scores surpᴀss every other superhero movie released in 2025, yet, sadly, they could not translate to box office success.
When looking at the potential reasons as to why Thunderbolts* did not perform well commercially, a few seem likely. For one, the cast of Thunderbolts* is primarily made up of minor MCU characters that debuted in either underperforming movies or Disney+ TV shows.
Aside from Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes, no other character in the film has been a prevalent part of the MCU for longer than four years. Even Florence Pugh’s Yelena was introduced in Black Widow, which underperformed commercially, with other characters like Ghost, John Walker, and Red Guardian being relatively unknown among wider audiences.
Finally, the film missed a trick in calling the film The New Avengers from the start. Thunderbolts*‘ ending revealed that the asterisk in the тιтle was to symbolize the change in the team’s name to The New Avengers, but Marvel Studios did not capitalize on the brand enough. As such, Thunderbolts* became the lowest-grossing superhero movie in 2025.
Captain America: Brave New World
Captain America: Brave New World was the first superhero movie released in 2025, on February 14. Despite only being reviewed positively by 46% of critics, 76% of audiences who logged a review on Rotten Tomatoes enjoyed the film.
Somehow, this weaker critical reception still allowed Captain America: Brave New World to earn more than Thunderbolts*, though not by much. Captain America: Brave New World‘s box office total sits at $413,640,021, against a production budget of $180,000,000. This means that, like Thunderbolts*, Captain America 4 earned over double its budget back, likely turning a small profit for Marvel Studios.
$200,500,001 of Captain America: Brave New World‘s worldwide total came in domestic markets. The other $213,140,020 was earned in domestic territories, enabling Captain America: Brave New World to rank in the bronze medal spot for 2025 superhero movie box office totals.
Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)
- Created by
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Kevin Feige
- First Film
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Iron Man
Captain America: Brave New World‘s lack of box office success is somewhat different from Thunderbolts*‘. The film has a known brand and a big MCU hero as its тιтle, and includes stars like Harrison Ford. Perhaps the biggest hurdle Captain America 4 had to overcome was its poor reviews and the overall fatigue facing the MCU of late. Evidently, it failed to do so.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
The runner-up regarding box office results for 2025 superhero movies was Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps. This film aligned much closer with Thunderbolts* than Captain America: Brave New World in the sense that it was classed as a continuation of the former’s return to form for the MCU, rather than another disappointing installment from the once-legendary franchise.
87% of critics gave The Fantastic Four: First Steps a positive review, with 91% of audience members doing the same. Clearly, the film was received well, which allowed the MCU flick to become the second-highest-grossing superhero movie of 2025. The Fantastic Four: First Steps‘ worldwide box office total capped out at $519,071,249, over $100 million more than Captain America 4.
Although The Fantastic Four: First Steps had a slightly bigger budget ($200,000,000) than the two aforementioned movies, its improved box office run saw it earn 2.6x its costs. The film’s domestic haul was $272,834,678, while its international total sits at $246,236,571.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps‘ success can be due to several factors. For one, the тιтular team is a fairly big brand for Marvel, with The Fantastic Four: First Steps‘ cast building on this by consisting of some of the biggest names in Hollywood. Beyond that, the film was billed as vital to an MCU event like Avengers: Doomsday.
Finally, after the critical success of Thunderbolts*, The Fantastic Four: First Steps received similar acclaim, meaning more audiences likely decided to give the latter a chance in theaters.
Superman
Despite three Marvel movies being released in 2025, the king of the box office belonged to the sole movie released by DC Studios: Superman. Superman has been hyped up since its announcement in 2022, causing over three years of excitement to exponentially build.
As the first official installment of the highly anticipated DCU, Superman was always expected to perform well commercially. Although the film was not the billion-dollar success many expected, it still capped off 2025 for superhero movies at the box office in a prime position.
Superman‘s worldwide box office total finished at $615,158,534, with $353,958,534 coming domestically and the other $261,200,000 coming from overseas territories. Combined with an 83% critical rating, a 90% fan score, and a lot of success in digital release markets, Superman is the unequivocal winner of the 2025 box office for superhero movies.
A big reason for this has already been alluded to. The fractured state of DC movies throughout the 2010s and the anticipation for James Gunn’s interconnected reboot saw Superman become one of the most touted blockbusters in recent years. This push from DC Studios and Warner Bros. evidently paid off.
Combining this with the name James Gunn being well-known thanks to his work on Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, audiences flocked to theaters to see Superman, beating out all MCU movies of 2025. With a sequel on the way in 2027 as proof, the DCU won the 2025 box office battle, with the Man of Steel flying ahead of his compeтιтors.
DC Universe
- Created by
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Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson
- First Film
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Man of Steel
- First TV Show
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Peacemaker
- Cast
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Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, Ray Fisher, Jason Momoa, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Laurence Fishburne, Jeremy Irons, Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnaman, Viola Davis, Jai Courtney, Jay Hernandez, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Cara Delevingne, Chris Pine, Robin Wright, Zachary Levi, Dwayne Johnson, Amber Heard, Patrick Wilson, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Mark Strong, Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer, Djimon Hounsou, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett, Rosie Perez, Ella Jay Basco, Ali Wong, Ewan McGregor, Idris Elba, John Cena, Michael Keaton, George Clooney, Xolo Mariduena
- Movie(s)
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Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman, Justice League, Aquaman, Shazam!, Birds of Prey, Wonder Woman 1984, Zack Snyder’s Justice League, The Suicide Squad, Black Adam, Shazam! The Fury of the Gods, The Flash, Blue Beetle, Superman, The Brave and the Bold
- Character(s)
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Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, The Flash, Cyborg, Harley Quinn, The Joker, Shazam, Darkseid, Amanda Waller, Lex Luthor, Doomsday, ᴅᴇᴀᴅsH๏τ, Deathstroke, Black Canary, Black Adam
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