While Thunderbolts*' poor box office performance seems surprising, it reflects the MCU's worrying box office trends. Jake Schreier's Thunderbolts* has been one of the best-reviewed MCU installments in a long time, holding an 88% critics score and a 93% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. Besides Thunderbolts*' exciting post-credits tease of The Fantastic Four: First Steps and Avengers: Doomsday, Thunderbolts* delivers a touching story about mental health and friendship, shining the spotlight on a group of anti-heroes who hadn't led their own MCU movie before.
Thunderbolts* is a remarkably consistent movie from beginning to end. It doesn't feature any multiversal character or plot element, nor does it reference as many previous installments as the usual Marvel entry. Thunderbolts*' ending presents a final twist that sets up future storylines starring the same team, but doesn't focus on laying the foundations for a direct sequel. Unfortunately, Thunderbolts*' positive qualities haven't been able to win general audiences over, and Phase 5's final movie has struggled to climb the MCU's box office rankings.
Thunderbolts* Is The Third Lowest Grossing MCU Movie
Thunderbolts* Is The Third Phase 5 Entry To Join The MCU's Top 5 Lowest-Grossing Movie List
Thunderbolts*' worldwide box office ranks even lower when inflation is taken into account. After one month in theaters, Thunderbolts* still hasn't reached The Incredible Hulk's inflation-adjusted $364.6 million. When adjusted for inflation, the next lowest-grossing movie already seems out of reach for Thunderbolts* as well: Captain America: The First Avenger'sinflation-adjusted $523 million places a tough benchmark to reach for Thunderbolts*' dwindling performance.
The Thunderbolts* Box Office Is Part Of A Larger Trend For MCU Movies
Only Major MCU Events Have Broken The MCU's Decreasing Box Office Trend
Unfortunately, Thunderbolts*' disappointing box office performance is part of a bigger problem. Phases 4 and 5 have delivered decreasing results despite Marvel Studios' larger budgets, output, and variety of content. Solo installments such as Black Widow, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and Captain America: Brave New World have fallen short of the standards established by similar Infinity Saga entries. Team-up films have also underperformed considerably, with Eternals, The Marvels, and Thunderbolts* at the very bottom of the MCU's box office rankings.
Throughout Phases 4 and 5, only one type of MCU movie has gone against the Multiverse Saga's negative box office trend. The major crossover, multiverse-themed event movies Spider-Man: No Way Home and Deadpool & Wolverine both zoomed to the very top of Marvel's box office records. Despite being surrounded by underperforming entries, Spider-Man: No Way Home claimed the MCU's third spot with $1.921 billion, and Deadpool & Wolverine claimed the sixth spot with $1.338 billion. Naturally, Spider-Man: No Way Home and Deadpool & Wolverine's major actor returns and homage to previous Marvel franchises were a key factor in their success.
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