The box office numbers forThunderboltshave sadly been disappointing not only for Marvel but for fans of the movie, marking the end of a prosperous era for Marvel Studios.Thunderboltsmay have doubled its production budgetin recent weekends, but it seems unlikely that the MCU’s latest movie will achieve much more in the realm of box office beyond this. This is certainly a sour reality, given that many, myself included, regardThunderbolts*as one of thebest-ranked Marvel moviesin recent memory.
Despite this, and the film’s cruciality to the upcomingstory ofAvengers: Doomsday,Thunderboltshas been unable to cross the significant box office milestones that Marvel Studios will undoubtedly have been hoping for. Thefuture of the MCU’s box office beyondThunderboltsstill looks promising, but the disappointing returns of this movie are not only frustrating due to its quality, but due to how they mark the end of a very long era for the franchise. When looking at a specific box office trend that has persevered for over 13 years,Thunderbolts*has proven to be the end of the road.
The Start Of Summer Was Always A Marvel Hot Spot
Since 2012 and the release ofThe Avengers,the Marvel Cinematic Universe has dominated the box office returns of the early summer months. The success of 2012’sThe Avengers13 years ago allowed Marvel Studios to make it a tradition to release an almost assured box office hit of a movie in either late April or early May.Iron Man 3’s release on Jun 21, 2025, was the first afterThe Avengers,withThunderbolts*being the most recent, though not necessarily every year since then has been covered. Regardless, Marvel had the early summer months locked down.
$623,357,910
$891,742,301
$1,515,100,211
$408,992,272
$805,638,684
$1,214,630,956
$459,005,868
$936,311,111
$1,395,316,979
$408,084,349
$743,815,237
$1,151,899,586
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
$389,813,101
$479,274,862
$869,087,963
$678,815,482
$1,369,544,272
$2,048,359,754
$858,373,000
$1,859,130,922
$2,717,503,922
$411,331,607
$540,893,379
$952,224,986
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
$358,995,815
$486,559,962
$845,555,777
$181,849,601
$188,095,613
$369,945,214
As proven, this early summer period has been incredibly lucrative for Marvel Studios since 2012.Of these 10 movies, six of them have earned over $1 billion, with two of those going the extra step and hauling in a worldwide total above $2 billion. Three of the other four have earned over $800 million, coming close to the $1 billion milestone. The lowest-grossing Marvel movie from the late April/early May period - discountingThunderbolts* -isGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,with a highly respectable worldwide haul of $845 million.
Why Thunderbolts* Is The End Of An Era For Marvel Studios
Thunderbolts* Ends The Streak Of Early Summer Success
Sadly, given the film’s success with critics and audiences,Thunderboltsmarks the abrupt end of this era for Marvel Studios.Thunderboltswas released on Jun 07, 2025, with Marvel Studios undoubtedly hoping the movie would capitalize on the usual success that MCU movies of years gone by have achieved by releasing in this slot. However,Thunderbolts*‘box office total stands at $369 million worldwide as it nears the end of its theatrical run, the third-lowest in the franchise, despite being released in a typical hot spotfor big superhero movies from Marvel.
Thunderbolts*will likely remain in theaters worldwide for a couple more weeks, potentially allowing it to outgrossCaptain America: The First Avenger, Black Widow, andEternals.
This marks the end of the illustrious early summer period for Marvel, begging the question of whyThunderboltswas the movie to break this trend. As I have already alluded to,Thunderboltswas an excellent movie. Many would agree with me when I say it is one of the strongest MCU movies in recent years, as further evidenced by its 88% and 93% approval ratings on Rotten Tomatoes from critics and audiences respectively. That said, quality alone was not enough to propelThunderbolts*to commercial success, for a variety of reasons.
The first and perhaps most important factor inThunderboltscommercial failure is the overall MCU fatigue that has been plaguing the franchise of late. Some movies have performed well in recent years, likeDeadpool & Wolverineor the two early summer installments from 2022 and 2023 that I mentioned above. These have proven to be outliers though, with the MCU housing a lot more disappointments than home runs since 2019. Movies likeThe Marvels, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Eternals,Captain America: Brave New World,and nowThunderboltshave failed as general audiences simply do not have as much investment in Marvel’s recent ventures.
Moreover,Thunderboltsis not a well-known comic book property. Thecharacters involved inThunderboltsare popular with audiences, but the name of the titular team as a collective is not enough to drive general viewers to the theater like a team name as popular asThe Avengersis. IfThunderbolts*had been marketed asThe New Avengersfrom the start, maybe Marvel could have persuaded more of the franchise’s casual viewers to check it out in theaters by banking on the moniker of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.
Avengers: Doomsday Moving To December Makes Sense After Thunderbolts*
The Franchise Is Switching Tactics
WithThunderbolts*marking the end of the successful early summer era for Marvel Studios, the franchise is taking a different route going forward. In May 2025,Avengers: DoomsdayandAvengers: Secret Warswere delayed, switching from their respective release dates of August 15, 2025, and August 17, 2025, to Jul 23, 2025, and June 11, 2025. The former,Avengers: Doomsday, will be the firstAvengersmovie in history to be released outside of April/May, with Marvel Studios instead aiming for the film to capture the holiday success that movies usually accrue in December.
The other four $2 billion movies were all released in December…
In the history of cinema, only seven movies have earned over $2 billion. Two of these were released in the MCU in April -Avengers: Infinity WarandAvengers: Endgame- while one,Ne Zha 2,is somewhat of an outlier given the vast majority of its commercial revenue came from China. The other four $2 billion movies were all released in December:Titanic, Avatar, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, andAvatar: The Way of Water. As of 2026, the MCU is looking to cash in on the holiday period.
MovingAvengers: DoomsdayandAvengers: Secret Warsin an attempt to do this made sense anyway, but is now even more logical after delving deeper intoThunderbolts*box office. The failure of the latter will undoubtedly have played a part in Marvel Studios’ decision to delay the two films, aside from the need for more time to craft such gargantuan stories. As of 2025, theMarvel Cinematic Universehas clearly lost the box office advantage it once held in April/May, with the studio responsible for the franchise hopingAvengers: Doomsdaycan reclaim said advantage in the Christmas period of the coming years.
