The MCU’s latest slate changes may leadAvengers: Doomsdayto destroyAvengers: Endgameat the box office. AsThunderbolts*concludes Phase 5 andThe Fantastic Four: First Stepsopens Phase 6, the wait forthe Russo Bros.‘Avengers: Doomsdaybecomes more exciting, and anticipation forAvengers: Secret Warsrises. Naturally, expectations for bothAvengersmovies are incredibly high, as both films promise a bigger cinematic event than the record-breakingAvengers: Infinity WarandAvengers: Endgamedouble punch.
Such high expectations can become a problem for Marvel’s upcoming movies, as they could oversell the projects. Fortunately,bothAvengers: DoomsdayandAvengers: Secret Warshave received positive updates, from Robert Downey Jr.’s return as Doctor Doom,Avengers: Doomsday’s cast announcement, and the start of production. With everything in place to deliver the MCU’s franchise-spanning event,Avengers: Doomsdayseems ready to start the race to the top of Marvel’s box office records.
How Much Avengers: Doomsday Would Need To Make To Beat Endgame
Avengers: Doomsday Needs To Earn More Than $3 Billion To Truly Match Endgame
In 2019,Avengers: Endgameclimbed to the top of the highest-grossing movies of all time, earning $2.799 billion worldwide beforeAvatar’s re-release reclaimed its number one spot two years later.Avengers: Endgamealso claimed multiple records, including"fastest movie to reach $1 billion, $1.5 billion, $2 billion, and $2.5 billion".Adjusted for inflation,Avengers: Endgame’s worldwide box office is around $3.2 billion, by 2025.Within the MCU, only 2021’sSpider-Man: No Way Homehas come close to matchingAvengers: Endgame’s box office after 2019, reaching $1.92 billion during the pandemic.
Avengers: Doomsdaywould have to earn more than $3.2 billion to surpassAvengers: Endgame’s record-breaking performance in full, and it would need to reach $2.8 billion just to surpassAvengers: Endgame’s 2019 gross
The movie landscape has changed drastically sinceAvengers: Endgame’s 2019 release. The COVID-19 pandemic, the rise of streaming, and the saturation of the superhero genre have reduced box office earnings drastically all across the board.Avengers: Doomsdaywould have to earn more than $3.2 billion in order to surpassAvengers: Endgame’s record-breaking performancein full, and it would need to reach $2.8 billion just to surpassAvengers: Endgame’s 2019 gross. However, matchingAvengers: Infinity War’s $2.048 billion ($2.3 billion, adjusted for inflation) would already be an impressive feat.
Avengers: Doomsday’s Release Change Gives It A Good Shot At Beating Endgame
Doomsday’s December Delay Is Good News For Its Box Office Prospects
MatchingAvengers: Endgame’s full box office gross seems like an unlikely feat forAvengers: Doomsdayin the current cinematic landscape, though Marvel’s nextAvengerscrossover recently got a valuable push.BothAvengers: DoomsdayandAvengers: Secret Warsgot delayedseven months each, to December 2026 and December 2027, respectively. Apart from giving them more time for production and post-production, bothAvengersmovies’ new December release date offers them the chance to join a growing club of high-grossing blockbusters.After all,December is the month when most of the highest-grossing movies of all time have been released.
Five of the top ten highest-grossing movies were released in December.Avatarwas released in December 2009 and grossed $2.93 billion,Avatar: The Way of Waterwas released in December 2022 and grossed $2.32 billion,Titanicwas released in December 1999 and grossed $2.25 billion,Star Wars: The Force Awakenswas released in December 2015 and grossed $2.07 billion, andSpider-Man: No Way Homewas released in December 2021 and grossed $1.92 billion. Standout exceptions wereAvengers: Infinity War, which was released in April 2018 and grossed $2.05 billion;Avengers: Endgame, which was released in April 2019 and grossed $2.79 billion; andNe Zha 2, which was released in Februrary 2025 and grossed $2.2 billion.
The Challenges For Avengers: Doomsday Beating Endgame
A $3.3 billion box office goal is a tall task for any movie, even for one backed by the most successful movie franchise of all time.Avengers: Doomsday’s packed castand multiversal premise are the Phase 6 movie’s biggest assets, but there are also a few extra challenges it has to face in December 2026. First off, 2026 is pretty crowded.Denis Villeneuve’sDune: Part ThreeandIce Age 6are both set to release on July 01, 2025 — exactly the same day asAvengers: Doomsday.Shrek5 will also release on December 23, andJumanji 4is set to release on December 11.
Second, the MCU’s Multiverse Saga hasn’t been as consistent as the Infinity Saga. The Multiverse Saga has presented a larger output than the Infinity Saga, but it has also included several of the MCU’s lowest-grossing and worst-received installments, such asThe Marvels,Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, andCaptain America: Brave New World.Thunderbolts*' lukewarm box office performanceis also a negative sign of the franchise’s wider perception, considering the New Avengers' introduction movie was significantly better received by audiences and critics than previous Phase 4 and 5 movie and TV titles.
Gone with the Wind’s inflation-adjusted$4.5 billionbox office record proves that inflation, industry evolution, and competition all play crucial roles in shaping box office records.
Likewise, the Multiverse Saga’s overarching story hasn’t been as clear as the Infinity Saga’s. Whereas each Phase of the Infinity Saga built toward a climactic Avengers crossover event (followed by a solo epilogue in Phases 2 and 3), the Multiverse Saga’s Phases 4 and 5 lacked clear divisions. Phase 6’sAvengers: DoomsdayandAvengers: Secret Warsare the Multiverse Saga’s only Avengers movies, and no character has completed a duology or a trilogy within the saga. The absence of central characters and team-up films leavesAvengers: DoomsdayandAvengers: Secret Wars' direction uncertain.
Could Avengers: Secret Wars Be Even Bigger?
Avengers: Secret Wars Has Everything To Beat Endgame, But There’s A Problem
Avengers: Secret Warshas gathered everything a Marvel movie needs to break every possible record and leaveAvengers: Endgamein the dust.Avengers: DoomsdayelevatesAvengers: Endgame’s crossover formula with the addition of the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the New Avengers, and presumably several surprising cameos, andAvengers: Secret Warscould take it all to the next level. Legendary Marvel stars such as Tobey Maguire, Hugh Jackman, Ryan Reynolds, and Wesley Snipes will probably appear alongside the Avengers, wrapping up almost thirty years' worth of Marvel movie history. On top of that,Avengers: Endgame’s Russo Bros. and Robert Downey Jr. are also returning.
On the other hand, the Multiverse Saga’s numerous flaws and setbacks have made it less likely for any of its projects to match the heights ofAvengers: Infinity WarorAvengers: Endgame. The once-reachable $1 billion milestone now feels more elusive, as audiences increasingly wait for streaming releases unless a film truly grabs their attention. WhileAvengers: Secret Warsmay surpassSpider-Man: No Way Homeand approachAvengers: Endgame’s numbers, the current movie landscape makes it unlikely that eitherAvengers: DoomsdayorAvengers: Secret Warswill hit the $3.3 billion they need to fully overtakeAvengers: Endgame’s record.
