AsMCUPhase 6 gets underway, it is now possible to reflect on how the worldwide box office totals of the preceding 5 MCU Phases rank. Combined, the MCU’s Phases have taken place over 17 years, beginning withIron Manin 2008 and recently rounding out MCU Phase 5 withThunderbolts*.
The MCU has earned Marvel Studios around $32 billion within that time, according toThe Numbers. It is now the most successful film franchise in history, surpassing such cinematic powerhouses as Star Wars and James Bond, for example.
While the sheer volume ofmovies that comprise the MCUis largely to thank for this success, the singular success of its composite films also cannot be overlooked. Across all MCU Phases, there are now 11$1 billion movies in the MCU, a number that Marvel Studios is no doubt hoping to increase in the near future.
The volume of movies and their individual success also play a significant role in the overall success of each MCU Phase. With that in mind, here ishow each MCU Phase has faredacross 17 years, and how each constituent movie affected their box office totals.
5MCU Phase 5
The MCU’s most recent Phase, MCU Phase 5, is also its least successfulso far. Taking place between 2023 and 2025, it is composed of six movies. Although this is the average number of movies for an MCU Phase, it is the first time that one has been composed of six movies since MCU Phase 2.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
$476,073,180
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
$845,555,777
$199,706,250
$1,338,071,348
$413,640,021
$382,436,365
Total: $3,655,482,941
MCU Phase 5’s most successful movie by far isDeadpool & Wolverine, which earned $1.3 billion to become the MCU’s sixth-highest-grossing movie overall. Unfortunately, its success was counterbalanced byThe Marvels, which becamethe MCU’s lowest-grossing moviein 2023 with a comparatively paltry $200 million worldwide gross.
MCU Phase 5 is indicative of the Multiverse Saga’s stresses since it launched withBlack Widowin 2021.In the wake of the seminalAvengers: Endgame, the Multiverse Saga has struggled to find its footingas it debuted a brand-new array of Marvel heroes and began bolstering the ranks ofthe MCU’s lowest-rated movies.
Sadly, despite thecritical acclaim enjoyed byThunderbolts*, it and otherMCU Phase 5 movies likeCaptain America: Brave New Worldare also emblematic of why casual audiences have begun to sour on the MCU. One of the core reasons is that they require viewing such installments as the six-hour-longThe Falcon and the Winter Soldieron Disney+.
4MCU Phase 1
Despite containing just as many movies as MCU Phases 5 and 2 and fewer than Phases 3 and 4, MCU Phase 1 spans more years than any other. Launching the MCU with 2008’sIron Man, it took almost exactly 4 years for 2012’sThe Avengersto round it out.
$584,877,827
$265,573,859
$621,156,389
$449,326,618
$370,569,776
$1,515,100,211
Total: $3,806,604,680
MCU Phase 1 contained the collection of movies that revolutionized the superhero movie genre. AlthoughIron Manwas released in the same year as the first superhero movie to gross $1 billion,The Dark Knight,it was one of five contributors that setThe Avengersin good standing to break multiple records at the time, including:
These accolades speak tothe success of MCU Phase 1. However,that success was tempered by the MCU’s second movie,The Incredible Hulk, which remained the MCU’s lowest-grossing movieuntilThe Marvelsclinched that undesirable accolade.
Despite being so widely lauded overall, MCU Phase 1 also contains two of the MCU’s lowest-rated movies, specificallyThe Incredible HulkandIron Man 2. Still,the unprecedented success of the then-$3.8 billion franchise was sufficient in springboarding the MCU into the cultural stratosphereand heralding the unparalleled success of subsequent phases.
3MCU Phase 2
After the success of MCU Phase 1, MCU Phase 2 acceleratedthe MCU’s release schedule. Thetwo movies per year from 2013 to 2015 began with sequels for each of the MCU’s newly established Big Three: Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor, and ended with the debut of several new superheroes and a second Avengers movie.
$1,214,630,956
$644,602,516
$714,401,889
Guardians of the Galaxy
$770,882,395
$1,395,316,979
$518,858,449
Total: $5,258,693,184
Thanks in large part to the titular superhero’s meteoric popularity,Iron Man 3became the MCU’s second $1 billion movie, releasing immediately after the first. MCU Phase 2 would then go on to house the MCU’s third withAvengers: Age of Ultronin 2015, although the second Avengers movie still fell short of the heights reached by the first.
Avengers: Age of Ultronremains the MCU’s lowest-grossing andlowest-rated Avengers movie, although it is hardly considered a failure by either metric.Thor: The Dark Worldalso became the MCU’s worst-rated movie overall, a title it kept for eight years, although its global box office still exceeded every non-Avengers movie from MCU Phase 1.
WhileThor: The Dark WorldandAvengers: Age of Ultronmight have shaken confidence in the franchise at the time,MCU Phase 2’s critical fortunes were kept aloft by two of the MCU’s most critically acclaimed movies,Guardians of the GalaxyandCaptain America: The Winter Soldier.
Both these movies helped to breathe new life into the franchise as they struck decidedly novel tones to what audiences had become accustomed to.This may have helped to supercharge enthusiasm for the MCU overall, as they proved to audiences that the MCU could continue to push boundaries six years in.
2MCU Phase 4
Although it only housed seven movies, unlike MCU Phase 3’s eleven,MCU Phase 4 suffered from overcrowding. This is because it was additionally crammed with eight Disney+ shows, of which six were directly tied to the mainline MCU’s narrative (potentially seven, if the events ofMoon Knightare ever acknowledged).
$379,751,131
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
$432,224,634
$401,731,759
$1,921,206,586
$952,224,986
Thor: Love and Thunder
$760,928,081
$859,208,836
Total: $5,707,276,013
It is difficult to ascertain how the MCU’s first TV shows affected the overall profits of MCU Phase 4, butits collection of movies fared well irrespective of Disney+’s impact. MCU Phase 4 is now the second-highest-grossing MCU phase, thanks largely to the fact that it contained so many MCU heavyweights.
Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, Thor, and Black Panther each boast particularly profitable movies in MCU Phase 4. Additionally, whileDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madnessfell short of $1 billion by just $48 million,Spider-Man: No Way Homeearned nearly $2 billion to become the MCU’s third-highest-grossing movie.
Working against MCU Phase 4’sbox office total wasits first three movies, which collectively grossed $700 million less thanSpider-Man: No Way Home.Black Widowwas given a simultaneous release in theaters and on Disney+, whileShang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten RingsandEternalsdebuted brand-new characters.
1MCU Phase 3
MCU Phase 3 remains the franchise’s busiest phase, with a grand total of eleven cinematic releases between May 2016 and July 2019. It also played host, for the first time, to two Avengers movies,Avengers: Infinity WarandAvengers: Endgame, with the former releasing one year after the latter.
$1,151,899,586
$676,343,174
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2
$869,087,963
$878,852,749
$850,482,778
$1,334,157,082
$2,048,359,754
Ant-Man and the Wasp
$623,144,660
$1,129,576,094
$2,717,503,922
$1,132,298,674
Total: $13,411,706,436
With a $13 billion worldwide gross, MCU Phase 3 sets an impossibly high bar. It houses four $1 billion movies and the MCU’s only $2 billion movies, meaningmore than half of the movies that comprise the entire phase broke the $1 billion mark, with several others, likeSpider-Man: Homecoming, coming dangerously close.
Enthusiasm for the MCU was at its highest with MCU Phase 3, which opened with what is arguably an Avengers movie in disguise,Captain America: Civil War. It also hosted the MCU’s two most successful cinematic debuts withBlack PantherandCaptain Marvel.
With only four movies on MCU Phase 6’s release slate at the time of writing,it is impossible for the phase that will round out the Multiverse Saga to replicate this success. Nevertheless, should these movies match the overallquality of those released in MCU Phase 3, it could at least help to set up futureMCUPhases for similar success.
